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Wicked Fantasy



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Sat Jul 25, 2020 12:37 pm
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soundofmind says...



James took a step back when Adam intervened. James hadn't been intimidated by Richard's taunts, but he was planning on waiting for the man to actually make a move before doing something like tackling him to the ground.

Granted, James was glad that someone else was doing the fighting. He was capable, but he felt like his mind was moving through thick molasses. It was easier to focus on the cold night air and the sound of his heart pumping blood through his skull than to think about what was happening around him.

Jay looking at him gave him just enough of reality to hear Jay order Richard to leave.

James watched to see if Richard would listen. That seemed like it would be too easy, but then again, he didn't know how this fantasy would go.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:45 pm
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Mageheart says...



"You've been fighting against this fantasy the entire time we've been here," Kira pointed out. She paused, focused, and made her hands look like actual, human hands before she reached one up to hold the necklace that was thankfully still there. "You're not anymore."
mage

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Sun Jul 26, 2020 3:25 pm
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Elinor says...



Adam was getting tired from continuing to pin Richard down, and before long he had no choice but to let him go. The force that he had used to do so scared him, to know that side of him, the one that had landed in jail in his late teens, was still present. Even if Richard deserved it, he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling.

Richard stood up, gave them a look, and scurried off into the night. As soon as he did, the group barely had a moment to breathe before Anna stood up and looked directly at Jay.

"You know I hate you, right?" Anna said.

"Wha, you just said-" Jay started.

"I was going to go to Paris. Then I met your idiot father. He abandoned me as soon as I had you." Anna laughed emptily. "I wasn't even in love with him. You were a mistake, an accident from two people who never should have been together in the first place."

Jay said nothing. Even if it wasn't real, it was hard to stomach his mother telling him these things.

"You ruined my life."

"Mommy..." Jay said, barely audibly. "Please stop." Still, as soon as he said that, he realized it wasn't going to stop any time soon. He looked and saw his younger self was watching this all helplessly. Taking everything in. But repeating the mantra he heard from the time he was old enough to understand. Children should be seen and not heard.

Just then, a woman appeared from the shadows. Dark hair done in waves. Hazel eyes. A beautiful face. She wore a blue velvet dress, utterly impractical for camping, but it was Jay's favorite dress that Sarah owned. She looked like a British princess whenever she wore it. He thought of the Bobby Vinton song, but now wasn't the time for it.

Adam swallowed when he was saw his mother, still so young and beautiful. Like he remembered from when he was a child. But she wasn't there for him, so he watched.

"Jay," Sarah said. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" Jay demanded.

"Why did you fake those checks?"

"We were desperate," Jay said. "We were going to lose our house. I did what I had to do."

"Adam cried for days after you went to prison," Sarah said. "He didn't understand why his daddy was leaving him."

Adam pursed his lips. He didn't exactly need everyone else to know what he had done as a child, and how his father being the way he was affected him, but he supposed these "fantasies" showed no one any mercy.

"You shouldn't have abandoned me," Jay spat. He was getting angry now.

"Or what? I'm sure you would have fucked your little blonde whore anyhow."

"Get Alexandra's name out of your mouth," Jay said, raising his voice.

"That poor girl," Sarah said. "What's going to happen when she finds out who you really are? She'll leave you."

"No," Jay continued, his heart pounding. "She'll never leave me."

"Everyone always does, dearest husband. You came into this world unwanted, and that's how you'll leave it." With that, Sarah disappeared into the shadows. Anna and little Jay got up and followed, leaving the men alone.

Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop, Jay thought. He cowered into a fetal position, unable to look at anyone or anything else. The other fantasies had ended around here. Why wasn't his?

While they waited, Adam watched his father with his lips pursed. It was hard not to be shaken but what had happened. His father was acting pathetic, and it was hard to puts words into what it was like to see him so vulnerable. To realize that a part of the reason why he was the way he was was that he'd never had a chance from the beginning.

But a lot of people had been raised in similar circumstances, and they hadn't done half of the things he did. And if he was so upset at not having a father growing up, why had he never been there for Adam? Didn't parents always want their children to to have better lives than they did?

Adam was livid.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Mon Jul 27, 2020 1:43 pm
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Teddybear says...



Bobby stared down at his reflection in the silverwear, quietly panicking at Queenie went chillingly calm.

Queenie looked like she was about to respond when her father signaled to one of the servants. He said something quietly to them and they scurried off, only to return mere seconds later with a folded up newspaper clipping.

Briar reentered the room with a plain black sketchbook in hand, which she placed in front of Queenie as she sat back down.

The girls' father held the paper out to Queenie, "The results of your last job have finally been recognized by the general public."

She took it, and Bobby's gut twisted even further. He wasn't supposed to be here. He had to get out. He was in a den of wolves, and they were bound to get hungry sooner than later.

He glanced up to read Queenie's expression.

Her face had gone blank, vaguely pleasant. There was murder in her eyes.

"This is Briar's work," she said, gently folding the paper and putting it down on her empty plate.

"Well, yes, of course it is," her father said, "but the orders were yours."

Queenie gave a slow nod.

Bobby quietly slouched further down in his seat, inching down, down, down.

"Why?" Queenie asked, a choking sweetness in her voice.

He ducked silently under the table and crawled, mostly unnoticed and hidden by the tablecloth, toward the exit.

"Why what?" her father's confused voice asked.

The end of the table was coming up, and Bobby could see the feet of a servant walking quickly along the side of the table, headed for the door at the back of the room. They'd have to cross past the unoccupied end of the table to get there.

"Why did you refer to the job as mine when all it is is...sloppy."

"Your sister executed the job perfectly," her father protested.

Bobby crawled out from under the table and tailed the servant out of the room, keeping his head down as they both left the room. The servant turned down a hallway that, from the sound and from the smell, probably lead to the kitchen. Bobby - though his stomach growled - went the other direction.

Doors and doors and doors stretched ever onward in the ornate hallways of the house Bobby should never, ever have been in in the first place. Paintings hung on the walls, pleasant, peaceful scenes that didn't fit the family who lived here at all. The hall was even wide enough for the occasional doorway to be guarded by a pair of statues. Tall depictions of royal-looking people Bobby didn't recognize.

It was one of those doorways that he eventually decided to try. He pressed the door and tried the handle, nearly falling flat when the door actually swung open.

The room was massive, a huge bed with curtains sat against the center of one of the walls, a display of various deadly-looking bladed weapons decorating the wall across from it. Another of the walls was decorated by a door leading to what must have been the closet, and a vanity with a mirror.

Bobby thought of something. Something stupid, that wouldn't work, but...well, anything might work, right?

He tiptoed into the room, trying to avoid even touching the floor as he picked his way over to the vanity. His heart thumping against his ribcage, he climbed up onto the empty vanity. There was nothing on it. No makeup, no pictures, no knick-knacks, nothing. The mirror was impossibly clean and clear.

Bobby avoided looking at his reflection as much as he could as he, carefully as possible, pressed a finger against the very edge of the glass. It gave. It's just a little loose in its frame, he thought as he pushed a little harder anyway, leaning against it with most of his weight and feeling increasingly silly.

Suddenly, the mirror fell open, and Bobby fell through.
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Tue Jul 28, 2020 12:34 pm
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soundofmind says...



James had thought when Richard left that things would calm down, but the tension in the air only grew thicker as Jay's mother started hurling accusations at Jay. James didn't know if it was true, or it was only Jay's worst insecurities and doubtful worries put in the mouth of his mother, but he could tell her words stung.

Things only got worse when another woman - evidently, his wife - appeared out of the darkness. Things had, remarkably, escalated from physical violence to emotional conflicts. James wasn't sure which one he preferred, and at this rate, he didn't know how much longer this could go on before it did get violent again.

He looked around the campsite looking for another mirror, but it was all in vain. The only things out here in this wilderness were them and firewood.

Then the scene started to fade, like reality had turned into sand, and was falling into a void. He watched as the ground beneath them turned into a sinking slush, pulling them in. Jay's mother and wife were sucking in almost instantly, and James watched helplessly as everything was sucked into nothingness.

For a split second, he couldn't breathe.

And then, they found themselves somewhere else again. His vision was blurred, and he wasn't sure when it would settle - but he could see enough to know that everyone was back - Kira, Queenie, and the boy, and reality had set into something else.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:05 pm
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Teddybear says...



The world shifted and swirled around Bobby like loose sand as they fell through the mirror until suddenly, there was solid ground beneath their feet. There was no impact, as though Bobby had never fallen at all.

Their surroundings came into focus, and Bobby realized that the others were around them. All of them. And then the cold registered. Their breath was visible in the air, and the ground they were all standing on was the icy, snow-covered porch of a little country home. Beyond the evergreens that surrounded the property, there was an endless sea of almost-glowing white that glittered in the moonlight, and in the light of the red and green strings of Christmas lights that wrapped around many of the trees and decorated the outside of the house.

Inside, the lights were on, and Christmas music could be heard faintly through the door, intermixed with the sound of laughter and many people chatting and joking.

Bobby stared at the door. Bright red, with cheery little flowers painted around the edges. Without thinking, their fingers brushed over some of the flowers. Tears pricked the back of their eyes.

Their hand came to the door handle, and they were suddenly reminded of the others.

They glanced back to see Queenie looking openly confused. Who knew what she was actually thinking. Probably that she wanted to get out of the cold. Everyone else was dressed in puffy winter coats, hats, scarves, and boots, but that didn't make it much less chilly out.

Bobby turned the handle and pushed inside, glancing down to watch their step and noticing that their own clothes had changed. Red snow boots and a knee-length puffy coat was all they could see, but from the feel of the outfit under, they didn't think they should take the coat off.

Inside, Bobby immediately hopped back to avoid being trampled by a speeding child. They yelped and knocked back into Queenie. Immediately, they went stiff, but she just brushed past and shrugged off her coat, hanging it up on the already-too-full coat rack like she'd been invited.

Maybe they had been invited.

"Rebecca!" an unintentionally-booming voice called jollily out over the din, "you're back! Just in time to help frost up the cookies. Take your coat off and hurry up before all the cookies are claimed!"

Bobby searched the room for the source of the voice, their worry vanishing as they forgot what this was, how they were here.

They finally found him, in the back of the room with frosting staining his fingers and a squirming toddler smearing more of it onto his face, papa was grinning and motioning for Bobby to come over.

They forgot about the others and, without thinking, gained a grin to match his.

She unzipped her coat and put it next to Queenie's, not noticing the look of shock on Queenie's face, or her stare at the fluffy-white-trimmed red velvet dress, or the giant golden bow on the back - probably the bow, really.

Bobby dodged her way through the sea of relatives, vaguely familiar faces, all laughing and playing Christmas-themed games or chatting amongst themselves, and ran to her papa. By the time she got there, the toddler - a cousin, maybe - had gone wandering off.

Without warning, she ran up to papa and tackled him in a hug.

Confused, he hugged her back, "You alright, Bobby?" he asked, concerned.
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Tue Jul 28, 2020 10:49 pm
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Elinor says...



Like clockwork, the desert melted away.

When Adam came to, they were on the porch of a country home. Evergreens surrounded him. He remembered winters like this when he and his mom still lived in Montana. He'd moved to Los Angeles partially to get away from winter. But he couldn't deny that in small doses it was nice.

Adam was wearing a silver puffer coat, gray wool gloves, and a knit Dodgers hat. He looked over at his father, who he was still angry at, in a woolen navy coat. No hat. No gloves. No scarf. Probably thought he was immune from frostbite, even in a dream.

The boy opened the door, and the others followed. Adam knew he had no choice but to follow.

He heard Karen Carpenter's voice coming from within. He recognized the album immediately. Christmas Portrait. He'd never been a Carpenters fan, but his mother had, and Karen had seemed like such a sweet girl. She deserved to be so much happier than she was.

What greeted him was a Christmas scene he only thought was possible in Norman Rockwell paintings. Nothing like the ones he had ever known.

There was a coat rack. He took his off, and found he was in a gray turtlenecked sweater. As Jay followed and took off his coat, he was revealed to be wearing a bright green sweater with a large knit cartoon Santa face.

Perfect.

Adam tried to contain his laughter as he looked around, waiting for what to do next.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:44 pm
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Mageheart says...



The world suddenly shifted again. Queenie's fantasy was replaced by one set at Christmas. Everything had felt so tense in Queenie's fantasy, but this fantasy felt far more comfortable. They had been reunited with the others, too. Kira didn't pay much attention to that, though she did wonder how her clothing would change when she finally started interacting with the family members darting around the house.

At least she looked human enough to fit in right now. She fingered the necklace dangling above her chest once more and focused. She wasn't going to slip up now. She had come so close to doing it in Queenie's fantasy.

Thankfully, she had a distraction. The moment they entered the house and the boy - who, Kira realized, wasn't really a boy - took off the coat, it clicked. She knew there were a lot of reasons for someone to hide their gender and that they weren't necessarily the same, but something about the situation made Kira feel a sense of kinship with her.

Kira followed her into the room that the man with the booming voice was in. She had been called Rebecca earlier, but it seemed like Bobby was the name she was more comfortable with. Kira would have to ask for sure later.

She bumped into a little boy darting out of the room, face covered in frosting. The apology slipped from Kira's lips before she could even think about it. With it, her outfit changed - she suddenly felt herself wearing a cozy red sweater, black leggings, tall, leather boots, and a green-and-red plaid scarf. She also was wearing a heavy coat, but the coat was whisked away by someone who seemed to think she was family.

It was...strange, but also kind of nice.

She knew this was Bobby's fantasy, and she knew that the fantasy would fall apart like the others. But, for a moment, she wanted to pretend that there wasn't anything wrong here. The last time she had been to a Christmas celebration, it had been to collect the ghost that had been haunting the house since he had choked during dinner the year before.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked, giving Bobby a warm but shy smile.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.





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Wed Jul 29, 2020 1:24 pm
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Elinor says...



So the boy was really a girl. That was interesting and and unexpected, but it was the least of Adam's worries right now.

His father kept staring at him.

"I like the sweater," Adam said, barely able to keep a straight face.

"Shut up," Jay said.

"Did we have any Christmases like this with your mom?" Adam asked, not caring who heard. These people were all figments of the kid's imagination anyway.

"You know I didn't," Jay snapped back.

"I'm going to get eggnog," Adam said. "Do you want any?"

"Sure," Jay replied.

As Adam waded through the crowd of people to the kitchen, a few people stopped and greeted him. Adam! How are you? Merry Christmas!

Setting aside the fact that he had no idea who any of these people were, he gave them a smile and nod. He got two mugs of eggnog and brought back them back to his father, who was leaning against the wall, observing the crowd but not interacting with anyone.

Adam approached and started to hand him the mug.

"What do you say?" Adam said. Jay had less manners than his children.

"Come on, don't be so self-righteous," Jay said, taking the eggnog.

"It's not that hard to say thank you," Adam replied, leaning against the wall next to Jay. "My kids do." It was such a reflex that he didn't think about the fact that Jay wasn't supposed to know about them. At least, not until they were old enough to understand.

But this had all been so weird that he was sure their memories would get wiped by the end of it or something. He was the same age as his father, after all.

"Kids?" Jay said.

"Yes," Adam said curtly. "Rachel is eight. Ryan is six. We have a third on the way. We just found she's a girl."

That's when Jay noticed the wedding ring on Adam's finger. He stared at it for a moment. "What's her name?"

"Mary."

"How long have you been married?"

"Eight years. We've been together for twenty."

"You waited that long?"

"Yes," Adam said, not wanting to tell his father about Mary. At the same time, he wasn't sure how to change the subject. "What year is it to you?" Adam asked. Jay had mentioned Colorado and a girlfriend earlier, so he figured it was his cult leader years, but he wanted to tread carefully about things about his father's future that he shared.

"1971."

"Figures," Adam said. "Try 1996." Adam started breathing heavily now. He didn't want to tread this conversation, but he was still angry and sometimes, the only out was through.

"What am I up to in 1996?" Jay asked.

Fuck it. "You're in prison."

Jay laughed. "What I do this time?"

"You told your little girlfriends to kill people," Adam said. He wondered if telling him was a bad idea. Wasn't the idea always that the future was unwritten? But the past happened the way it did for a reason, and trying to change it could lead to even worse consequences than before. Jay said nothing, and Adam continued. "All I wanted was for you to be a dad."

"I could never have given that to you."

"Why not?" Adam said, his tone clipped.

"What, did you want me to tuck you in and read you bedtime stories?"

"YES!" Adam yelled, spilling his eggnog everywhere. People were staring. Adam knew he had no choice but clean it up. "We're not done," Adam snapped to his father before making a beeline for the kitchen.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Wed Jul 29, 2020 1:55 pm
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soundofmind says...



It was cold.

James was in a puffy jacket, and he could feel some kind of artificial fur inside around the neck, brushing against his face. He scrunched the lower half of his face down into it and shivered, watching as the others walked in and hung their coats up, each of them in winter clothes and festive colors.

The child was a girl, apparently, and her hair didn’t look like a mess anymore. He worried for her, knowing that this child’s dream would only get worse, just like all the others.

He realized he’d been standing at the doorway for a little too long when a gust of cold air brushed against his legs and nipped at the back of his head. One of the many family members came up to him and waved him inside with a smile, encouraging him to take his coat off and get comfortable, but he didn’t want to. A shake of his head was enough to get them to pull away and get occupied with other things.

James put his mittened hands in his pockets, and let the warmth of the indoors soak in. All the chatter, all the smells, and all the people were instantly overwhelming. He stayed by the door, leaning back against the wall as an observer.

He didn’t want to see the kid get hurt by whatever would happen next, but he knew it was inevitable.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.






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Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:53 am
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Teddybear says...



Bobby untangled from papa's arms and turned, one arm still around him, to look around the room. Everyone was here. Aunt Lindy, Aunt Cherel, Aunt Share, Uncle Rory, Uncle Jack, all of the cousins and grandparents from every side of the family. Even Great Grandma Mindy was in the rocking chair in the corner humming along to the music and putting the finishing touches on an oversized, knitted Christmas sweater, no doubt for Uncle Rory. He'd gotten one from her every year until...

A lump formed in Bobby's throat, but she swallowed it down. No, no, they were all here now.

"Going to frost some cookies, Rebecca?"

Bobby jumped and clung tighter to Papa at Queenie's voice. There was still confusion behind her eyes, a hint even she couldn't cover, and Bobby couldn't help seeing some anger in her face, too.

"Queenie!" Papa said with a big grin, "I'm so glad you could make it this year. The blizzard last year was such a shame. Come, sit down, let's catch up." He gestured to the table - or, there might have been a table under there somewhere. Right now there was just a bit mess of bowls and pans of freshly cooled cookies, and smears of frosting and sprinkles everywhere you looked.

Queenie hesitated - caught off guard for the first time Bobby had ever seen - and then her mask was back and she gave a smile, "Of course," she said and took a seat.

Papa followed suit and Bobby was left standing along for a moment. She hesitated. Finally, she sat down on the other side of Papa. Quietly, she picked up an unfrosted cookie and picked a knife out of the nearest bowl of bright green frosting. Nervously listening to the conversation beside her, she smeared the frosting methodically over the sugar cookie.

"You and Bobby here haven't gotten to hang out much, huh? You've got all those big fancy dinners with your rich old man," Papa was saying to Queenie, who didn't have time to answer before he continued, "You know my girl here got Prom Queen last year?" he squeezed her shoulders, grinning proudly, "Won a whole bunch of art competitions and such, too. She's in one right now, you know, through her school. Her friends convinced her to sign up and she's the best in her grade."

Tears pricked the backs of Bobby's eyes even as she blushed, and she ducked her head to hide both. Papa noticed. Papa let me enter contests. Papa's proud of me.

Fake.

She forced herself to focus on the cookie. Getting the frosting just right around the edges.

Queenie was saying something. Something pleasant, boring. She was so boring when she was acting.

One little bit of frosting kept trying to stick out all wrong, and everything Bobby did with the knife to fix it only made it worse.

Frustration added to the ever-growing mass in her throat, and she couldn't breathe.

Gently - she made herself do it gently - she put the cookie down and switched to sprinkles to cover it up.
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Thu Jul 30, 2020 11:19 am
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Mageheart says...



Kira was forgotten in a room full of a family that she could only dream of. She wasn't sure how she would have handled having so many of them. It seemed like it would be impossible to remember all of their names, to invite them all to family events, and to keep in touch with every single one of them.

And while Kira wished there was some way she could be more involved in this fantasy, she knew what it was like to disappear into the background. Being hidden from the eyes of the world was part of her heritage no matter which side of the family tree she looked at.

So Kira flitted through the unfamiliar faces, eyes on Bobby as she tried to move a little closer. When the fantasy went sour, Kira would be there to help her get through it.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Thu Jul 30, 2020 1:24 pm
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Elinor says...



As Adam walked into the kitchen, he walked past the girl frosting cookies. There were a lot of people in the house, all moving around, all doing different things, and it was hard to focus on getting what he needed.

He was getting angry. He'd been angry since they were in the desert, and if he wasn't careful the next person who interacted with him was going to get it. Really, they should be letting it soak up with paper towels, but he could only be in so many places at once, and his dad of course was going to stand there like a deer in headlights.

Luckily, Adam had children and thus plenty of experience with cleaning up messes. Last Christmas in Cleveland Rachel had accidentally spilled her hot chocolate on Tara's carpet. They'd used vinegar and hot water. Luckily, Adam found both and hastily made a mix and took the roll of paper towel from the holder.

Then, he carefully waded his way back to his father, who was standing in exactly the same place.

"You don't need to do that," Jay said.

"I should do it," Adam replied. "You could help, you know."

Jay smirked, then wearily knelt down and started containing the spill with paper towels. "Once, when you were three," Jay said. "Your mom wanted you to eat spinach. You did not. She kept trying to get you to eat it, and trying to get you to eat it, and you took the spinach and you threw it at her." Jay smiled, thinking of the memory. "She was so mad."

"I know," Adam said. "She... loves that story." He almost caught himself using past tense, but he wasn't ready to open that can of worms right now. He looked at Jay, and would have pitied him if it weren't for all of things he'd done, all the way he's hurt him. He just supposed there was a part of him that couldn't help love the guy. Blame genetic programming or whatever. "I just wanted you to spend time with me."

"Your mother did a fine job."

"You're missing the point," Adam snapped. "Do you really not care about anyone other than yourself?"

Jay laughed. "I give people a home that had none before."

"And you ruined their lives," Adam said.

"Who says?"

"Ask the girl you put in prison at twenty-one. Ask her daughter. Your daughter," Adam said as he began to apply the vinegar mix to the carpet. It was coming out. Good.

"I don't know who you're talking about," Jay said as he sat back.

"Oh, fuck, yes you do." Thinking of Esther again made him choke up. She'd held onto him so tightly when they'd danced at his wedding, like she was at sea and he was the only thing keeping her afloat. He missed her. "She thought she wasn't wanted because both her parents were synonymous with evil."

Jay scoffed. "I wasn't wanted. So what?"

Adam lost it now. He stood up and started screaming at his father. "You don't get to punish the rest of the world because you were dealt a bad hand. BE A NORMAL FUCKING PERSON."

Adam took his coat and went outside. The cold air and the isolated setting made him feel alert. Just then, Jay followed him. Adam sighed. "Calm down, Adam."

"I swear, if you come near me, you will be sorry." He could feel the nineteen year old coming out in him again, and he didn't care.

"It took half of me to make you," Jay said. "Never forget that, son."

Adam punched his father in the face and he fell into the snow. Then, he kept doing it.

And Jay just.... let it happen. After a moment, Adam let go. It had felt good for a moment and then...

Jay was laughing.

I'm not like him. No. I'm better than that. Adam thought. He watched his breath swirl in the air as he figured out what to do next.

All our dreams can come true — if we have the courage to pursue them.

-- Walt Disney





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Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:16 pm
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Teddybear says...



Queenie nodded along, painting a look of interest on her face while she worked out the fantasy. Bobby wanted his- no, her dad to be proud of her and she wanted...to frost cookies at Christmas time? Spend time with family? That last one sounded more like it. Bobby might just like Christmas, the setting didn't seem to contribute much else to Bobby's fantasy.

Bobby's dad - to whom she bore quite the resemblance - was launching into a story about how Bobby got straight A's in her art classes at school when there was a faint buzzing sound. He paused, "Oh, that's me," he said, chuckling as he dug around in his pocket for his phone.

Queenie got a glimpse of the caller ID. 'Terrance'.

"Excuse me, ladies," he teased in a terrible British accent, "I have to take an important call." He got up ungracefully from the bench that they had on this side of the table rather than chairs and walked off, answering the phone with the friendly voice that was probably normal for him.

When Queenie looked back at Bobby, though, she'd gone pale.

Queenie rested an elbow on the table and leaned on it, "What's wrong?"

Bobby flinched and turned her gaze back to the cookie, "It's turning," she said quietly, clearly on the verge of tears but trying in vain to hide it.

Queenie furrowed her brow. How was her dad getting a phone call the turning point?

Bobby must have seen the look, or just sensed it - that kid had a sixth sense for other people's emotions, it was honestly a little creepy - because she pivoted suddenly on the bench and vanished into the crowd of similar-looking whatever-Bobby's-last-name-was's.

Queenie was no less confused.

xXx


Bobby ducked her head and let the swarm of extended family hide her as she made her way to the Christmas tree. She had to check. She had to.

It was like this last time. Papa got a phone call, and then everything went wrong.

Not as many of the aunts and uncles were able to make it last time, they weren't able to decorate the trees outside - though Bobby always wanted to - and their own Christmas tree never looked this nice, and never had this many presents tucked under it with so many different cheerful patterns of colorful wrapping. No one could ever afford to buy everyone a gift, and wrapping paper was more expensive than just paper shopping bags or old newspapers.

But this was that Christmas. No mistaking it. Not after Papa got a call from Terrance.

Bobby dropped to her knees beside the tree and started to dig through the presents. She'd gone through this day so many times in her head, and the grouping of the gifts was still the same, even if they were wrapped differently, and even if there were more of them.

The gifts from each side of the family were grouped together, and each family had gotten gifts for the family members they wouldn't admit were their favorites. Someone was always left out, even by Great Grandma Mindy.

Last time, Uncle Rory forgot Uncle Jack and promised to get him a beer to make up for it, and it went pretty much the same with everyone else who was left out by someone. Promises no one was going to keep were made to keep the peace, and the little kids were all, always, remembered. When you're little enough to complain, everyone will avoid a fit.

Bobby picked up gift after gift, reading off the names, counting every cousin, aunt, uncle, and grandparents she could remember to see who was left out by whom.

Nobody.

Except, of course, again, Bobby.

She sat back on her heels and stared at the pile. I'm too old to cry over Christmas presents. That didn't stop the tears pricking the backs of her eyes.

xXx


The door swung open, sending a gust of warm air into the cold. The air outside had grown sharper, more frigid, as the night wore on, and the man who stepped out the door with a phone pressed to his ear shivered, huddling into himself to try to ward it off.

"Mhm," he said to the person on the phone as he closed the door behind him, "Yeah, tonight. I'll be there."

He turned around and his eyes locked on the scene out in the snow.

"I'll call you back."

He hung up the phone and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "What's going on out here?"
formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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soundofmind says...



James could hardly hear what anyone else was up to over the din of music and chatter, but he watched as Adam and Jay passed him and went to the porch, and he watched as Queenie talked to the girl's father.

He caught the look on Bobby's face, when her father got up to answer a call. That was it. Things were going wrong - and he couldn't know how, but her expression was telling enough.

James looked around the crowded room searching for exits. Hallways. Doors. He'd only been in a few modern homes like this one but he tried to think of where a bathroom would logically be, or at least, he thought about it until he realized he could actually make use of the many, many people surrounding him.

He poked the nearest passerby - someone who might've been an uncle, it was a wild guess at this rate - and asked where the bathroom was. The man seemed a little bewildered that James felt he had to ask but laughed it off and pointed James in the right direction. James thanked him, and departed. That was all that he needed.

Another mirror, right?

But he didn't know if it would work like last time. All of them would've experienced their dreams at this point, if he was right in assuming that, when they split up, Queenie probably experienced hers. That would make the most sense, since both James and Jay had theirs in the others' absence.

So if there was a mirror, would it take them anywhere? Or would he just be looking at his reflection?

It would be better to try than to stand around doing nothing.

James weaved his way through people, still keeping his puffy coat on in the process. He was starting to get a little uncomfortably warm, but he liked the barrier it created between him and other people. That, and he didn't want to see what kind of hideous festive outfit might be on underneath.

Finally, he found the door. He tested with a knock, first.

Someone hollered back. Ah. It was occupied. How convenient.
Pants are an illusion. And so is death.









To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.
— Proverbs 18:13