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heroesriseandfall · 2 months

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Canonical Batfamily Birthdays

Here are all the birthdates I know of that are canon somewhere in DC, with a preference for the main comics continuities. I have included exact sources and image references when possible. I am not including character introduction dates, just actual birthdays.

If you find any other sources for Batfamily birthdays, please do share!

A moment of silence for Batfamily characters who don’t have canonical birthdays yet, so far as I know. This includes Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, and more. :(

Summary

Source images will be further down, but here’s an overview in roughly age order (I’m not sure of Kate vs Selina’s ages) with the dates the birthdays were introduced and used:

Tim Drake: July 19th (from 2003)

Jason Todd: August 16th (from 2004)

Cassandra Cain: January 26th (from 2002)

Helena Bertinelli: February 14th (in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold universe, from 2010)

Helena Wayne: September 7th (from 1984), potentially October 20th or the 22nd of unknown month or maybe October 22 or maybe Feb 28th (all the New 52 on passports from 2011-2012). These could also be New 52 Helena Bertinelli’s birthdays or nobody’s birthdays. who even knows.

Dick Grayson: March 20th (from 1995), October ~24th ish (from 1990), November 11th (from 1976), December 1st (on Earth-16 in animated Young Justice universe, from 2012)

Barbara Gordon: September 23rd (from 1976), sometime in fall (from 1987)

Selina Kyle: March 14th (from 1976)

Kate Kane: January 26th (in Batwoman TV series from 2020), March 21st? (word-of-god by J.H. Williams III from 2012)

Bruce Wayne: October 7th (from 2021), February 19th (from 1970s various to more recently), April ~7th (from the late 1940s)

Jim Gordon: January 5th (from 1976)

Alfred Pennyworth: April 8th (from 1976), August 16th (in the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe, from 2016)

Note: in this post when I say “main comics continuity(s)/universe” I’m referring to anything that’s been a “home” continuity for the comics at some point. For example, pre-Crisis Earth-2, Earth-1/New Earth, and Earth-0/Prime Earth, as opposed to Elseworlds or DCEU earths that are still part of the broader DC multiverse but have never been the primary continuity of the comics.

Below are further details and source panels.

Details and Sources

Tim Drake

Tim has only been given one canon birthday. He turned 16 on July 19th in Robin Vol. 2 #116 (cover date Sep 2003).

Robin Vol. 2 #116 (Sep 2003)

Jason Todd

Jason turned 18 on August 16th in Detective Comics #790 (March 2004). This is his only canon birthday.

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004)

In post-Crisis/preboot (1986-2011) continuity, there was a gap of six months between when Jason died and when he was resurrected (Batman Annual 25). Jason died April 27th according to his death certificates in Batman Annual 25 and Batman Files 2011, so he would’ve resurrected near late October.

Batman Annual 25 (May 2006)

So, it could be that post-resurrection Jason is biologically 6 months younger than he chronologically should be. But honestly, do we even really know what multiverse-breaking resurrection punches and then a Lazarus Pit on top of that do to someone’s body??? Either way it’s just much more simple to just use his chronological age.

Cassandra Cain

Much like Tim and Jason, Cass has only ever been given one birthdate: January 26th from Batgirl Vol. 1 #33. With that birthday, she turned 18 in Batgirl Vol. 1 #37.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #33 (Dec 2002)

When Jan 26th actually comes, Bruce suggests David Cain could’ve lied about it, but Cass denies that idea and continues to treat the day as her birthday.

Batgirl Vol. 1 #37 (Apr 2003)

Why it's likely her real birthday: Bruce initially believes Cain must’ve lied because he doesn’t think Cain could’ve known her birthday. However, we later learn Cain had lied about her origins and was actually her biological father. Batgirl v1 #62 and #73 show he was there for her birth and could absolutely know the date.

On top of that, in Batgirl #37 Cass remembers celebrating her birthday with him as a child, so he did seem to actually keep track of it. I honestly don’t see any reason to believe he’d lie (Bruce is just a jealous spoilsport).

Helena Bertinelli + Wayne

I’m combining them here because the New 52 gives me a headache.

Helena Bertinelli celebrated her birthday on February 14th in a spin-off comic from the animated Batman: The Brave and the Bold series. This is obviously not part of regular comics continuity and the characters differ from the usual comics in many ways. And yet, for reasons that will soon be clear, it’s my favorite for actually being about Helena Bertinelli the Huntress and for not being an utter mess.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14 (Apr 2010)

In a character profile at the end of Infinity Inc. #7 (Oct 1984), Helena Wayne’s birthday was September 7th, 1959. Calculating back from October 1984, that would make her 25 at the time.

During the New 52, Helena Bertinelli was initially portrayed as a long-dead (secretly alive but don’t worry about it) mobster’s daughter and replaced by Earth-2’s Helena Wayne who got stranded on Prime Earth. This H. Wayne stole H. Bertinelli’s identity in the form of several forged passports and IDs, which had hints toward birthdates. The question is, can we take any of those birthdates seriously, and if so, which birthdates and for which character? (Cue my headache.)

Skip ahead to Dick if overthinking fake passports sounds boring.

When comparing to a real Italian passport, the date on H. Wayne’s fake Italian passport appears to be a birthdate. Note that the fake name is Carol Bertinelli, not Helena. H. Wayne said her IDs were inspired by H. Bertinelli but clearly she’s taking liberties for the IDs so that’s a point toward these being useless for H. Bertinelli birthdays.

Huntress Vol. 3 #1 (Dec 2011)

I don’t recognize the month abbreviation as a real abbreviation, but from the visible letter O I’m going to assume it means October. If it is, then the date is 20 October 1985. Sidenote: a 1985 birthdate during 2011 could put her age at about 26, which is actually quite close to how old she could’ve been based on pre-Flashpoint! 1985 has been given as Helena Wayne’s death year before, so it’s an interesting choice of a birth year for her. (Thanks to DC’s sliding timescale, though, birth years don’t actually mean anything in the comics.)

They don’t show her complete US passport, but I can see a “22” in line where the day of the month should be for her birthdate. This already contradicts the previous passport. This one uses Helena Bertinelli’s actual name, though–does that make it more relevant than the Carol one or this all still ridiculous because of the discrepancies?

Worlds’ Finest Vol. 1 #1 (Jul 2012)

We can try to glean the US passport birth month from the passport number at the bottom. The first two digits (“12” here) indicate the agency that issued the passport. 12 means the Honolulu agency. Right after “USA” is supposed to be the birthdate plus an extra number, in the order of year/month/day with the year being the last two digits of a year. Here we encounter another problem. It says 810228. This would imply her birthdate is 1981/02/28. That’s February 28, 1981. Since the earlier line indicated her birthday fell on a 22nd, this already contradicts itself.

Interpreting a Machine Readable Zone (MZR) on a Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD)

However, I’d bet comic writers and artists aren’t always well versed in passport numbers (it’s already a stretch for me to bother checking it…). If they put the extra digit before the birthdate instead after, and the date is formatted month/day/year (the most common format in American English, so probably their first instinct), then we can drop the first 8 and it’s 10/22/8[?] with the last digit unknown. This would put her birthday as October 22, sometime in the 1980s. The 22 matches the earlier line, the October might match the previous passport if that really did say October (but contradicts the 20th), and the 1980s year could be 1985 to match the Italian passport.

At the end of the day I’m personally just going to let Helena Bertinelli be a Valentine’s born baby and call it a day, unless/until she gets a better one in the comics. For Helena Wayne I’d easily pick September 7th.

(My question is: did they give the crossbow vigilante a Valentine’s birthday as a Cupid joke??)

Dick Grayson

Dick has probably had the most birthdays of everyone (unless Bruce has more I don’t know about). All of them have their drawbacks.

In a main comics continuity, his most popular and most recent is “the first day of spring” so probably March 20th. This comes from Robin Annual 4 when his mom says she calls him Robin because he was born on the first day of spring. That presents some problems since there are other explanations given for the origin of “Robin,” including that his mom said he was “always bobbin’ along” (Dark Victory #12, page 17) or the original inspiration of Robin Hood (Detective Comics #38, p3).

Robin Annual 4 (Jun 1995)

Before that, in Secret Origins Vol. 2 #50 (Aug 1990), Marv Wolfman wrote a version of Dick’s origins where Dick turned 10 a week before his parents died on Halloween. That would make his birthday October ~24th (presuming that “a week” before Halloween literally means 7 days here).

Secret Origins Vol. 2 #50 (Aug 1990)

The first drawback of the October birthday is that it’s tied to Dick being 10 when his parents die on Halloween. Dick’s age and the date his parents die change a lot depending on the writer (Nightwing Vol. 1 #1 says his parents died June 27th, Dark Victory #8-9 says May, etc.). The second drawback is that few people remember this version of his birthday even exists.

Dick’s birthday is November 11th in Super DC Calendar 1976. Note: Despite being a non-diegetic calendar from almost 50 years ago, this source remains well known and used among comic enthusiasts (including those working at DC). Generally, I would say it should mainly apply just to pre-Crisis continuity, but it is also useful for characters that haven’t gotten updated birthdays ever since (like Roy Harper, Barbara Gordon, or Selina Kyle, for example).

Super DC Calendar 1976

Sidenote: Since Damian doesn’t have a canon birthday, November 11th is favorite to steal for my own fan canon Damian birthday. Dick has plenty birthdays to share and I think it’s cute. @ DC, give Damian and Steph birthdays, they’ve been birthday-less for decades!

Indeed, DC writer Tim Sheridan and editor Mike Cotton debated whether Dick’s birthday was in March or November. They favored March 20th and wrote a birthday scene in Teen Titans Academy #1 (published March 23rd, 2021). The publishing time near Dick’s birthday was intentional, though the date isn’t mentioned within the comic itself.

Link to tweet

The above birthdays were all meant to apply to a main comics continuity at some point. However, Earth-16, better known as the animated Young Justice universe (therefore outside of main comics continuity), says YJ Dick’s birthday is December 1st.

Young Justice Vol. 2 #20 (Nov 2012)

Unlike Helena Bertinelli, Dick has plenty of comics birthdays to choose from, so personally I’ll only count Dec 1st as being the birthday for YJ animated/Earth-16 Dick Grayson until or unless it’s ever mentioned to apply to main comics continuity.

Barbara Gordon

Super DC Calendar 1976 says Barbara’s birthday is September 23rd.

Super DC Calendar 1976

Since then, the only time I recall her birthdate hinted at is in Secret Origins #20 when her adoptive mom says her birthday is in the fall. This could support her birthday being September 23rd.

Secret Origins Vol. 2 #20 (Nov 1987)

Although she has celebrated her birthday on panel since then (the end of Nightwing Vol. 2 #153), she hasn’t been given any other actual birthdate. So I’ll keep September 23rd and call it a day.

Selina Kyle

Super DC Calendar 1976 says Selina’s birthday is March 14th. Once again, although it hasn’t been mentioned within a comic, it’s stuck around in popular consciousness (see: Catwoman actress Zoë Kravitz wishing Selina a happy birthday on March 14th).

Super DC Calendar 1976

Selina celebrated a birthday on panel in Catwoman (2002) #37 but the date was never mentioned. I don’t know of any other reference to her birthday, but my reading of Selina is thus far more sparse than my reading of the others.

Kate Kane

Kate’s birthday options all come from outside of the comics themselves.

In “An Un-Birthday Present,” season 1 episode 11 of Batwoman, a parallel version of her twin Beth had a driver’s license showing her date of birth as January 26, 1990. She and Kate later celebrated their birthdays on an episode aired Jan 26th, 2020. I don’t keep up with live action DC shows so I unfortunately can’t offer a screenshot (if anyone has one or the timestamp, please let me know!).

(I kinda wonder if somebody looked up Batwoman’s birthday for these episodes, saw Batgirl’s (Cass’s) birthday, and just ran with it. Batwoman and a Batgirl sharing a birthday is just. Ughhh.)

In 2012, one of her comic writers tweeted to choose a random date for her birthday and picked March 21st, which so far as I know has never been used as her birthday in comics.

Link to tweet

Bruce Wayne

Bruce’s most popular birthday is February 19th, but his most recent one is October 7th from the digital-only comic Legends of the Dark Knight. I believe that’s the only time October 7th has been referenced, but I’ve heard the animated show The Batman said his birthday was in October (can’t confirm, haven’t watched it recently).

Legends of the Dark Knight #10 (Jun 2021) - Note: two pages have been combined into one for this post

Still, even associates of DC seem to remember his February 19th birthday better. In February 2023, Warner Bro’s Gotham Knights game did a sale for Bruce’s birthday. I’ve also heard the birthday was used in the Gotham TV show, but again, I don’t watch much live action DC shows.

The February 19th birthday appears to come from the 70s and 80s. It’s his birthday in the Super DC Calendar 1976, and in Batman Family Vol. 1 #11: “Suprise, Suprise!” (May 1977). Bob Rozakis (known as DC’s “Answer Man”) said Feb 19th was Bruce’s birthday in the letter column of Detective Comics #494 (Sep 1980).

Letter column of Detective Comics #494 (Sep 1980)

Batman Family Vol. 1 #11: “Suprise, Suprise!” (Jun 1977)

Super DC Calendar 1976

Way back in the 40s, his birthday was in April, possibly April 7th. During a birthstone murder mystery, Bruce says his birthstone is a diamond, which is traditionally the April birthstone.

World’s Finest Comics #33/6 (Mar-Apr 1948): “The 5 Jewels of Doom!”

Star Spangled Comics #91 (Apr 1949) might imply the exact date was April 7th but we’d have to assume the party is on his birthday and that “this month” refers to the publishing month of April. I believe this is where people get the April 7th birthday when they bring it up.

Star Spangled Comics #91 (Apr 1949)

Early April also shines in Batman: Year One where it shows Bruce’s first night out as Batman being either the night of April 6th or the early morning of April 7th (Batman #405). So although the April Bruce birthday hasn’t been used in decades, it’s still a Batman birthday in a way.

I have also heard people say Frank Miller considered Bruce’s birthday to be in November. However, I have yet to find an original source of him saying that, and honestly (just like the “March 21st” birthday for Kate) if he never used it in any canon material I don’t put much weight in that.

Jim Gordon

The only birthday I’ve ever seen for Jim is January 5th from Super DC Calendar 1976.

Super DC Calendar 1976

Alfred Pennyworth

Alfred’s birthday in Super DC Calendar 1976 is April 8th.

Super DC Calendar 1976

In the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe (an alternate reality where the video game of the same name is set in), they show Alfred’s birth certificate, where it says his birthday is August 16th, 1943.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Five #26 (Jun 2016)

Maybe you’ll notice that August 16th is Jason’s birthday. A little funny considering the issue features Alfred refusing to share his birthday only for us to learn it’s the same date as Jason’s. Still, annoying. There are so many days in the year! Stop choosing the same ones!

This Alfred birthdate runs into a similar problem Helena’s birthdates did: it’s not part of main comics canon, it’s an alternate universe, so it may not be applicable to the main comics universe.

Note: if we calculate that 1943 birth year from Jun 2016 when the comic was published, that’d make Alfred 72 soon to be 73. Does that mean anything in canon? Probably not, but oh well. Also...token British character born by Windsor Castle? …of course.

Personally, I would rather go with the April 8th birthday than the Injustice one, since Injustice is an alternate universe. Also, outside of the humor of it, the idea of Alfred and Jason sharing a birthday is a bit too much for me. Still, it’s up to people’s own cherry picking.

Chronology

The birthdays in publishing order alongside notable reboots. A soft-reboot refers to reboots that only changed a few details with minor consequences, keeping the overall continuity mostly intact. A major reboot has significant effects on continuity (too many to list).

1935-1986: Pre-Crisis era (Golden Age begins ~1946, Silver Age runs from late 50s--early 70s)

Mar-Apr 1948: Bruce’s birthday is in April

Apr 1949: Bruce has a birthday party on the 7th of “this month”

Skipping a good three decades because I barely even know what’s in there. Sorry lol

Mid 70s to early 90s: Bronze Age era

1976: the super dc calendar says Bruce’s birthday is February 19th, Alfred’s is April 8th, Dick’s is November 11th, Babs is September 23rd, Selina’s is March 14th, Jim’s is Jan 5th

Jun 1977: Bruce celebrates his birthday on February 19th

Sep 1980: letter collumnist says Bruce’s birthday is February 19th

Oct 1984: Helena Wayne’s birthday is on September 7th, 1959

Mar 1986: the major Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot (begins post-Crisis/New Earth era, many previous comics are now considered Earth-2 instead)

Nov 1987: Babs birthday is in fall

Aug 1990: Dick turns 10 a week before Halloween (probably October ~24th)

Sep 1994: Zero Hour soft reboot (Batman and Robin become urban legends so Robin is not allowed on video, Bruce’s parents’ murderer is changed to unknown instead of Joe Chill, Selina is no longer a once-prostitute)

Apr 1995: Dick’s birthday is the first day of spring (probably March 20th)

Oct 2002: Cass learns her birthday is January 26th

April 2003: Cass turns 18 on January 26th

Sep 2003: Tim turns 16 on July 19th

Mar 2004: Jason turns 18 on August 16th

Jun 2006: Infinite Crisis soft reboot (Joe Chill is restored as the arrested Wayne family murderer, Superboy-Prime's punch retroactively resurrects Jason)

Apr 2010: In the Batman: Brave and the Bold universe, Helena Bertinelli celebrates her birthday February 14th

Oct 2011: the major Flashpoint reboot (end of post-Crisis/preboot, begins the New 52 and changes the primary universe to Prime Earth; significant character/timeline changes and erasures)

Dec 2011: Helena Wayne’s fake Carol Bertinelli passport seems to list October 20th as a birthdate

Jul 2012: Helena Wayne’s fake Helena Bertinelli passport lists some 22nd unknown month, Oct 22nd, or Feb 28th birthday

Sep 2012: Batwoman writer J.H. Williams III randomly picks Kate’s birthday as March 21st on Twitter

Nov 2012: Earth-16/YJ animated Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday on December 1st

Jun 2016: In the Injustice: Gods Among Us universe, Alfred’s birth certificate says his birthday is August 16th

Jul 2016: Rebirth reboot (restores some pre-Flashpoint continuity, some characters regain previous histories but now semi-synchronized with the New 52 era)

Jan 2020: Batwoman TV show Kate celebrates her birthday on January 26th

Mar 2021: Writer Tim Sheridan says he & his editor chose March 20th as Dick’s birthday, between the March or November birthdays

May 2021: Infinite Frontier holds all previous continuities as potential canon, restoring more of pre-Flashpoint

Jun 2021: Bruce says his birthday is October 7th in a digital-only comic

Feb 2023: Gotham Knights game has a sale for Bruce’s birthday

#batfamily #batfam #tim drake #dick grayson #bruce wayne #dc continuity #heroesriseandfall #cassandra cain #dc comics #jason todd #helena bertinelli #selina kyle #barbara gordon #jim gordon #alfred pennyworth

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astrosky33 · 11 months

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𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘

𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐘

𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟓 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬/𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟗 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝟗 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝟓 𝐈𝐍 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲

𝟗 𝐈𝐍 𝐍𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲

𝟓+𝟗 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭

𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒 - 𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲‘𝐬

ADRIANA LIMA

》 She is known for her extreme beauty and being the lead model in Victoria’s Secret. She was rated the 2nd most beautiful women in the world. She doesn’t have a 5 but she does have a 9. 9 represents extreme beauty and 1 represents leadership

》 Born on June 12th, 1981

》 Her birthday numbers are 3, 28/1, and 9

MEGAN FOX

》 She was named the world’s sexiest women and has 9 in her birthday but not 5

》 Born on May 16th, 1986

》 Her birthday numbers are 7, 3, and 9

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET

》 He is known for being really good looking and doesn’t have a 5 in his birthday numbers however, does have a 9

》 Born on December 27th, 1995

》 His birthday numbers are 9, 3, and 9

BELLA HADID

》 She’s one of the most famous supermodels in the world. Scientists even said she has a 94.35% perfect facial ratio. She has a 9 in her birthday but not a 5

》 Born on October 9th, 1996

》 Her birthday numbers are 9, 1, and 8

NAOMI CAMPBELL

》 She’s the most famous black supermodel in the world and has 9 in her birthday

》 Born on May 22nd, 1970

》 Her birthday numbers are 4, 9, and 8

𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒 - 𝟓 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬

ANGELINA JOLIE

》 One of the things she is known for is her beauty. Her life path number is 5

》 Born on June 4th, 1975

》 Her birthday numbers are 4, 1, and 5

BEYONCÉ

》 She was voted the 3rd most beautiful women in the world and her life path number is 5

》 Born on September 4th, 1981

》 Her birthday numbers are 4, 13, and 5

TAYLOR HILL

》 She’s a famous Victoria’s Secret model with 5 in her birthday

》 Born on March 5th, 1996

》 Her birthday numbers are 5, 8, and 6

HOYEON JUNG

》 She was voted one of the top 10 most beautiful Asian women in the world and has 5 in her birthday

》 Born on June 23rd, 1994

》 Her birthday numbers are 5, 11, and 7

RYAN REYNOLDS

》 He was voted the sexiest man alive in 2010. He was born on a 5 day

》 Born on October 23rd, 1976

》 His birthday numbers are 5, 6, and 11

𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐗𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒 - 𝟓+𝟗 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲’𝐬

ARIANA GRANDE

》 When you search most beautiful women on Google she’s one of the first people to show up. She has a 5 and 9 in her birthday

》 Born on June 26th, 1993

》 Her birthday numbers are 8, 5, and 9

MADISON BEER

》 Many people say she’s the most beautiful women in the world and the new Megan Fox

》 Born on March 5th, 1999

》 Her birthday numbers are 5, 8, and 9

GIGI HADID

》 She’s one of the most famous models in the world and has both 5 and 9 in her birthday

》 Born on April 23rd, 1995

》 Her birthday numbers are 5, 9, and 6

LILY ROSE DEPP

》 Many know her as an actress but she also models. She has both 9 and 5 in her birthday

》 Born on May 27th, 1999

》 Her birthday numbers are 9, 5, and 6

LANA DEL RAY

》 She is very pretty and has a unique beauty. She has 9 as her second number and her life path number is 5

》 Born on June 21st, 1985

》 Her birthday numbers are 3, 9, and 5

𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗦

𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧

𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬

#numerology #numerology birthday #birthday numerology #life path #life path number #famous birthdays #beauty numerology #beauty #models #model numerology

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henrysglock · 6 months

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A Little Catholic Calendar Math for March 1959

Something I can't believe I didn't do earlier, especially regarding my book of revelation post (here) is the calendar math on the Creel murders for both Henry and Edward.

Specifically, I want to talk about Easter of 1959.

As we know, Edward's murders occurred late on March 21st, 1959, and the bodies were discovered the next morning: March 22nd, 1959.

(lifted from Em's post here)

Can we guess what that Sunday was? Anyone?

It was Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday being when Jesus enters Jerusalem, marking the beginning of Holy Week.

It also happens to be the day Edward would have officially been entered into HNL.

Interestingly, the Saturday before Palm Sunday is known as Lazarus Saturday, as it marks the day when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead as proof that he would be resurrected when the time came.

A miracle of resurrection...on the night of Edward Creel's murders. (Staring at El's resurrection powers, featured front and center in ST4...)

Now, as we also know, the Creel boys ended up in a week-long coma:

That next Saturday is Holy Saturday, also known as Black Saturday or Easter Vigil...

...Commemorating Christ's descent into Hell.

—cough cough—

Anyway.

Edward, then, would have woken up on Easter Sunday:

...making his story an altered version of the resurrection of Christ.

That was Edward. Now, let's talk about Henry.

Henry's murders took place the night of Wednesday, March 25th, 1959, and the bodies were discovered the next day: Thursday, March 26th, 1959.

Holy Wednesday and Holy Thursday respectively.

What's so special about Holy Wednesday?

Holy Wednesday, also known as Spy Wednesday, is the day that Judas betrayed Jesus.

The bodies, then, were discovered on Holy Thursday, the last mass before Easter.

Then Henry, like Edward, has his coma. However. This seven-day coma means that Henry does not wake up on Easter Sunday.

He wakes up on April Fools.

He's a false Christ. He's not the droid we're looking for.

None of these dates line up again until...you guessed it: 1986

Chrissy dies on March 21st, Friday of Sorrows. She's found on March 22nd, Lazarus Saturday. Fred dies on Lazarus Saturday. Max is cursed on March 23rd, Palm Sunday. Patrick dies on March 25th, Holy Tuesday. Max falls into a coma on March 27th, Holy Thursday. The full gang meets up after the 2 day jump: March 29th, Black Saturday.

Season 5 will pick up after March 30th: Easter Sunday, 1986.

All of this corroborates what I've been saying since March: We've got a holy trinity, but it's not the one you think it is.

As I laid out in my Book of Revelation post, Edward/Vecna/001 has a frankly insane amount of Catholic God coding.

Here are some highlights, if you don't want to read the entire thing:

Our Holy Trinity, in Stranger Things, is likely Edward, Brenner, and the Shadow. Christ the Son, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

And all of this...with Henry and El as false/failed Christs, scapegoats for the real deal (see: El being blamed for both One and Vecna's murders, when in fact she's been standing against both the entire time).

This post also serves as my retraction re: Will as Christ. (Gasp! James retracting a statement? Say it ain't so...) I'd like to send the statement in another direction, because this isn't me saying that Will is unimportant. While, in my opinion, Will is not a part of our big Holy Trinity...I personally see him as a prophet, much like St. John of Patmos, rather than one of the Big 3. That's not to say I'm staunchly against him as a Christ figure, but it just doesn't hit quite right for me anymore.

#stranger things and the bible #henry creel #edward creel #timeline theory #stranger things

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maxineholtzmann · 3 months

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Hey new friends! If you're here because of my recent ficlet, I have a longer steddie fic on ao3 you might be interested in! Here's a snippet:

PROJECT EASY-BAKE

ONE - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26th, 1986

Max Mayfield was up to something. She’d popped over on Sunday to ask for flour. Then again on Tuesday. Now it was Wednesday and here she was on Eddie’s front porch again.

“I need to borrow 2 cups of flour,” she said flatly, holding the same red plastic mixing bowl she’d been holding the last two times.

“Wow, no ‘Hi Eddie, you’re such a great neighbour, how are you doing’? This is the third time this week you’ve asked for flour. What the hell are you baking and why are you baking it in such high quantities? ” Eddie crossed his arms, leaning on the door frame of his trailer.

“None of your business, Edward. If you don’t have any I can just go ask Mrs Murphy down the road,” Max started to turn away, moving exaggeratedly slowly, glancing sidelong back at Eddie to see if he would stop her. Of course he was going to stop her–Mrs Murphy would trap her in her trailer for the next six hours if she went over there.

“Fine–you can have the flour. But I do think I deserve some kind of explanation about what it’s all for and why you haven’t just gone to buy your own bag of flour by now,” Eddie stepped back into the trailer, beckoning Max in. The girl turned, her braids whipping Eddie’s chest lightly as she stalked past him to the kitchen.

“Yeah, because I can just carry a whole bag of flour home from the grocery store on my skateboard,” Max said, rolling her eyes as she set the bowl down on the counter. She made quick work of locating the bag of flour in the cupboard and grabbing the measuring cup off the counter where she had left it the day before.

“Couldn’t Harrington take you? I know he chauffeurs all you freshmen around for whatever reason. I saw his car here on Monday,” Eddie was on a fishing expedition. He’d been trying all year to figure out why his little sheep were all obsessed with Steve Harrington of all people–maybe Max was his way in.

Max grimaced slightly, measuring out the first cup of flour carefully into the bowl, “Normally, yeah I could ask him. But not for this.”

“What, does he have a vendetta against the grocery store or something?” Eddie hopped up on the counter next to her.

“Get your ass off the counter, that’s not sanitary,” Max lightly shoved his legs, getting flour on his black jeans.

“If you think anything in this kitchen is sanitary , Red, you’d be incorrect. Stop changing the subject–what is all of this for? And why on god’s green Earth do you not want Harrington to know about it?” Eddie scooted closer as Max carefully measured out the second cup of flour.

She paused, considering. “If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

Eddie perked up, of course , he should have thought of this earlier. “Oh, so that’s it. You have a crush on Harrington. I mean, he’s a bit old for you, but I can see the appeal–”

“What? No! Ew! He’s like my weird hybrid brother-mom.” Max looked at him like he had five heads. “It’s his birthday next Tuesday and I’m trying to bake him a cake but every time I try it turns out disgusting. Sunday it was burnt and yesterday it was raw in the middle! He does a lot for us and I know no one else even knows when his birthday even is and I wanted to do something…nice, for once. If you tell anyone I said that I’ll kill you.”

“How do you know when his birthday is, then?” Eddie hopped down off the counter, leaning against it instead.

“I stole his wallet, saw his driver’s license,” Max shrugged, as if it was obvious. She dusted off her hands and closed up the bag of flour, placing it back in the cupboard.

“Wait, do you mean to tell me that Harrington’s birthday is April Fool’s Day ?” Eddie said after a moment, calculating in his head Tuesday’s date.

“Yes, and you are not allowed to tell anyone ,” Max said, scooping up her bowl of flour and pointing a finger up at him.

“What are you gonna do if I do, fight me?” Eddie scoffed outwardly, but he was a little sure that Mayfield could take him if she wanted to. She was small but scrappy.

Max rolled her eyes, “Oh Edwin, I don’t need to fight you. I know where you sleep and I own scissors. I’ll just cut your hair off in the night.” She smiled up at him sweetly.

Eddie yelped, hands instinctively going to his hair, as if by holding onto it he could prevent it from being cut.

“Now let’s go–I need adult supervision,” Max grabbed Eddie’s arm and hauled him out of the trailer. “And don’t think I forgot about your ability to ‘see the appeal’ of Steve.” She waggled her eyebrows at his stunned silence as she dragged Eddie across the road to her trailer.

Walking into the Mayfield’s trailer, it became apparent to Eddie almost immediately that Max’s mom was drinking again–there were beer bottles and cans all over the coffee table, side tables and dining table. The only surface clear of empties was the kitchen counter, which currently was covered in an assortment of baking ingredients and utensils.

“Okay, so the recipe says we need sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa, milk, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Here–” Max thrust a whisk into Eddie’s hands, “You can be my human mixer.”

“So it’s not so much ‘adult supervision’ and more ‘you don’t want to mix the batter by hand yourself’?” Eddie raised an eyebrow, but got to work whisking together the dry ingredients as Max measured and dumped them into the bowl.

“Look, if you help me with this, I can help you with your extremely sad crush on Steve.” Max continued measuring ingredients.

“I do not under any circumstances have a crush on Steve. I just want to know why all of you seem to worship him. Henderson won’t shut up about him! It’s all ‘Steve this’ and ‘Steve that’! He is far too beefy and hairy and tall and covered in tiny moles and clean and OH NO.” Eddie dropped the whisk, staring off into the middle distance in horror as he realized that he did in fact, under all circumstances, have a crush on Steve Harrington. And he had just admitted it to his child neighbour. Who was friends with Steve.

“There it is,” Max patted him on the arm. “Now get back to whisking.”

read the rest of Project Easy Bake on ao3!

#steddie #stranger things #stranger things fanfic #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington x eddie munson #eddie munson x steve harrington #my fic #self promo

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thisisyourdriverspeaking · 8 days

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And onto the next edition of my US Motorsport Number Ones posts... it's the Indycar 2024 grid edition 😊

Helio Castoneves (10th May 1975) - Tony Orlando & Dawn - He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)

Takuma Sato (28th January 1977) - StevIe Wonder - I Wish

Katherine Legge (12th July 1980) - Paul McCartney - Coming Up

Scott Dixon (22nd July 1980) - Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me

Ryan Hunter-Reay (17th December 1980) - Kenny Rogers - Lady

Will Power (1st March 1981) & Ed Carpenter (3rd March 1981) - Eddie Rabbitt - I Love A Rainy Night

Romain Grosjean (17th April 1986) - Falco - Rock Me Amadeus

Marco Andretti (13th March 1987) - Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer

Colin Braun (22nd September 1988) - Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Graham Rahal (4th January 1989) - Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Agustin Canapino (19th January 1990) - Phil Collins - Another Day In Paradise

Marcus Ericsson (2nd September 1990) - Sweet Sensation - If Wishes Came True

Josef Newgarden (22nd December 1990) - Stevie B - Because I Love You (The Postman Song)

Alexander Rossi (25th September 1991) - Color Me Badd - I Adore Mi Amor

Felix Rosenqvist (7th November 1991) - Karyn White - Romantic

Conor Daly (15th December 1991) - Michael Jackson - Black Or White

Kyle Larson (31st July 1992) - Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

Jack Harvey (15th April 1993) - Snow - Informer

Scott McLaughlin (10th June 1993) - Janet Jackson - That's The Way Love Goes

Tom Blomqvist (30th November 1993) - Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)

Pietro Fittipaldi (25th June 1996) - Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha' Crossroads

Alex Palou (1st April 1997) - Puff Daddy & Mase - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

Santino Ferrucci (31st May 1998) - Next - Too Close

Kyle Kirkwood (19th October 1998) - Barenaked Ladies - One Week

Callum Ilott (11th November 1998) - Monica - The First Night

Linus Lundqvist (26th March 1999) - Cher - Believe

Pato O'Ward (6th May 1999) - TLC - No Scrubs

Colton Herta (30th March 2000) - Destiny's Child - Say My Name

Christian Rasmussen (29th June 2000) - Enrique Iglesias - Be With You

Marcus Armstrong (29th July 2000) - N'Sync - It's Gonna Be Me

Rinus Veekay (11th September 2000) - Janet Jackson - Doesn't Really Matter

Christian Lundgaard (23rd July 2001) - Usher - U Remind Me

Sting Ray Robb (3rd September 2001) - Alicia Keys ' Fallin'

David Malukas (27th September 2001) - Jennifer Lopez & Ja Rule - I'm Real (Murder Remix)

Theo Pourchaire (20th August 2003) - Beyonce & Jay-Z - Crazy In Love

Kyffin Simpson (9th October 2004) - Ciara & Petey Pablo - Goodies

Nolan Siegel (8th November 2004) - Usher & Alicia Keys - My Boo

All added to this playlist 😊

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Z751sk1l8O7QC3vV4Hu8E?si=guuC_GwfS6yXAPA79KsfNg&pi=e-jhqjK0BSQOeU

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reactor-four-official · 1 year

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History of the RBMK 1000 (Reaktor Bolshoy Moschnosti Kanalnyy): High Power Channel Type Reactor

The RBMK 1000 reactor, the type involved in the Chernobyl Disaster, is a boiling water reactor (BWR) designed in the 1960s at the Kurchatov Institute, the Soviet Union's nuclear science center.

The USSR had placed a priority on developing nuclear power in the late 1950s in its never ending attempts to improve its infrastructure and power its rapidly expanding industrial base. Nuclear reactors are extremely effective at providing high baseload capacity to a power grid, since they are rarely switched off and (depending on the design) can generate enormous amounts of electricity for lower running costs than a more traditional hydrocarbon power plant. Essentially, since they are (almost) always on, they are always providing the grid with a large and extremely reliable supply of energy. It also allowed the USSR to appear at the front of atomic energy, and laude the successes of the ‘Peaceful Atom’. In the atmosphere of the Cold War, peaceful use of atomic power was a key propaganda tool at home and abroad.

The RBMK was selected for construction by the Ministry of Energy over the rival VVER Pressurized Water Reactor in 1968. It was chosen because it was cheaper to construct in terms of material costs, and the components could be mass produced in pre-existing factories for far lower cost. With an enormous power output of 1,000 MWe (megawatts of electricity) it was declared the 'National Reactor' of the USSR. Construction began on the first RBMK in 1970 at the Leningrad Atomic Energy Station. This unit entered service on December 21st, 1973.

Below: A labeled diagram of the core of an RBMK type reactor.

The RBMK 1000 and its successor RBMK-1500 (basically the same reactor with a slightly higher power output) was fraught with safety issues almost from its inception. This was related to several design features and quirks of the reactor, notably the abnormally high positive void coefficient due to steam bubbles in the coolant circuit and the use of graphite as a moderator. Several other even more concerning design flaws would become apparent over the course of its operation, culminating in the explosion of Chernobyl Unit 4 on April 26th, 1986. These revelations have even continued up until present day, with the most recent example being in 2012 when Leningrad Unit 1 (the one mentioned at the end of the previous section) had to be shut down for 18 months to replace graphite moderator blocks that had deformed due to heat and extensive use. This issue has been identified at several other RBMKs.

The reactor type experienced no less than two partial meltdowns in the history of its operation, one at the Leningrad plant and one at the Chernobyl plant (the partial meltdown incident at the Chernobyl plant is different from the explosion and complete meltdown of Unit 4 in 1986). Both of these were serious incidents with not insignificant radioactive releases, but they only partially damaged the respective reactors. The public was not notified in either case, and all information on the design flaws was kept secret by order of the USSR’s highly centralized government.

RBMK construction was halted only in the wake of the Chernobyl Disaster in 1986. Of the 26 reactors approved for construction, only 18 ever entered service. Several modifications were made to the existing RBMKs to eliminate the dangerous flaws that had lead to the 1986 accident. As of 2023, most RBMKs have been shut down and decommissioned. Of the 18 completed reactors, only eight still operate (Three at the Kursk NPP, two at the Leningrad NPP, and two at the Smolensk NPP. All but one of them are scheduled to be shut down and decommissioned by 2030).

The RBMK’s impact has primarily been showing that graphite moderated reactors have far fewer safety features than other water moderated reactors like those in the West. Ironically, the VVER which had been sidelined by the RBMK has enjoyed massive commercial success both in Russia and abroad as an exported design. VVERs are still being actively built and operated in about a dozen countries worldwide.

This is simply an informative blurb on the history of the RBMK-1000 nuclear reactor. I am going to make a more in depth explainer of how the reactor is built as well as an analysis of the physics of the accident at Chernobyl. I will update this post with a link to them when they are complete. My planned deadline is the 26th of April, the anniversary of the explosion. I hope this post has been informative and I am of course happy to answer any further questions and provide any requested information.

#rbmk #nuclear reactor #chernobyl #nuclear power #bwr #disaster #history #autism #nuclear #accidents and disasters #radiation #rbmk 1000 #reactor #chernobyl hbo #chnpp #ussr #soviet union #chernobyl disaster

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moonchildreads · 1 year

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small town

Chapter 7 - The Search Is Over

IN THIS CHAPTER: A planned birthday party, nerdy father figures, and The Present Ritual [4.1k]

WARNINGS: brief mentions of deceased parents

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

Now I look into your eyes, I can see forever The search is over, you were with me all the while

Saturday, April 26th - 1986

“Honey, there’s someone here to see you,” James knocked on the wooden frame of his daughter’s bedroom door.

“Huh?” she lifted her head from her pillow and looked at the clock next to her bed: 11:02.

Without saying anything else, Dottie’s dad disappeared down the hall, his footsteps heavy on the stairs. Who on Earth was dropping by to see her on a Saturday before noon? Rushing to the bathroom to brush her teeth, she heard her dad yelling from down the stairs again.

“Dorothy, did you hear me?”

“Yes, yes! I’m coming, hold up!” she screamed back at him, grabbing the railing so she wouldn’t trip on her slippers on her way down the stairs.

Dottie opened the front door with a hurried yank and was surprised to find no one at the other side. Worried that whoever had been waiting for her to show up had gotten tired and walked back to their vehicle, she peered around, craning to see down the street. Again, nothing. Not even a soul. There wasn’t even a car parked nearby, only an elderly neighbor spraying his bushes with a slinky hose. Extremely confused, and frankly still rather sleepy, she closed the door and stared blankly at the handle. She turned around and began making her way to the kitchen, questions burning the tip of her tongue. Unsolved mysteries were terrible on her anxious little heart.

Her words died in her throat as she heard familiar voices coming from behind the closed shutters of the passthrough kitchen window. Her eyes widening, she tripped over the rug, throwing herself to the shutters and pulling them open. They hit the walls with a loud bang and the three men on the other side turned to look at her.

“What the fuck are you two doing here?!”

“Jesus, kid, we can leave if you want.”

A loud chortle made its way out of her throat as she leaped through the door to hug one of the two men, the one who wasn’t currently holding a mug of coffee. Joseph looked up from the teenager between his arms, smiling at James and Robert who were watching the very dramatic act unfolding at the kitchen island.

“Did you really think we were gonna miss your 18th birthday, kiddo?” Robert said, stealing the girl from his friend’s arms and squeezing tightly.

“I just never thought- why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“And ruin the surprise? Natalie is sorry she couldn’t come, but she got this for you. She said you should wear it for the party,” Joseph slid a large gift bag across the island.

Uncles Joseph and Robert were two of James Burke’s best friends from college. The three of them met as classmates while pursuing an Engineering degree but Joe and Rob had switched to a more social sciences oriented program during junior year before heading off to Law school after graduation. They had a small but successful firm together in NYC; Joe’s strength was litigation and Rob’s was transactions so it felt natural for them to partner up and navigate the post-graduate world together. As they often said, life was so much easier with the right people around you to raise you up when you stumbled.

It only made sense then that when Dottie’s mom passed away, they took it upon themselves to raise both James and Dorothy up as much as they possibly could. As such, the young girl had spent countless hours at their budding law firm, her short legs swinging from the tall chairs as she doodled or worked on her homework, waiting for her Dad to pick her up after a meeting that ran particularly late. Uncle Joe was the eternal bachelor; born and raised in New York, he always knew the most obscure and fascinating places to take her to. One of her favorite memories was from the time he’d taught her to ride a bike in an old abandoned parking lot that had a fantastic Italian-owned pasta place right around the corner. She’d scraped one of her shins until it bled but they had wonderful gnocchi afterwards so overall it had been a great day. On the other hand, Uncle Rob was married to Natalie and had two kids: six-year old Nate, whom Dottie had babysat numerous times, and newborn Lily, whom the teenager hadn’t been able to meet yet due to moving to Indiana. When they sat down to have a late breakfast, Dottie’s first question before she had even opened Natalie’s gift was to ask for pictures of Lily, which prompted Rob to pull out a stack of recently developed memories from his coat pocket like he had been waiting for her to request them all along.

Aunt Natalie had sent her a precious pair of black ruched booties with the tiniest hint of heel; as she was admiring them, Uncle Joseph appeared behind her with a stack of presents from the rest of the gaggle of aunts and uncles she missed so dearly. There was a small selection of leather-bound Shakespeare books from Aunt Mary Elizabeth and Uncle Johnny, a black skirt with suspenders from Auntie Rachel (You should wear that with the boots tonight, honey!), a gorgeous dainty set of silver earrings with a matching necklace from Uncle Joseph himself, a handmade wooden jewelry box from Uncle Robert, a few rare vinyls from Uncky Paul, and a pair of comfy pajamas from always practical Aunt Barbara. Dottie glanced at the wrapping paper and bows lying around her on the kitchen floor and realized she would never have anything to fear as long as she had these people in her corner.

“Well, now that presents are out of the way,” Uncle Joe began, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Tell me about these D&D nerds who are coming to your birthday party.”

“It’s me, I am the D&D nerd in case you forgot,” she said as nonchalantly as she could, feeling a burst of anxious energy at the thought of her dear uncles meeting her new friends. Thank God Uncle Johnny wasn’t here or he’d offer to DM a campaign out of his ass for everyone.

“To be fair, there was no way on Earth you wouldn’t be a nerd with the dad you have,” Rob said.

“And with the Uncles she has,” James quipped.

“And also the Aunties,” Joe finished, remembering how Rachel used to be their de facto leader during their adventures. “But don’t change the topic, I wanna know about your new friends.”

“You’ll meet them soon enough,” Dottie said with an innocent smile. “You’re gonna love Erica.”

Eddie glanced at his wristwatch again after parking his van outside the address Dottie had scribbled for him on a piece of paper. The watch said 7:53, and he took a deep breath knowing he was more late than he had wanted to be. Henderson probably got here fifteen minutes before the party even started, he thought bitterly. He grabbed the terribly wrapped gift - the reason he was way past fashionably late - from his passenger seat and walked up to the front door, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Dottie’s house was a typical suburban two-story house. The front lawn looked a little bare aside from the mailbox but seemed to be well taken care of, and there was a big tree to the side of the concrete path that led to the front door. The only indication a party was going on inside the house was a colorful banner hanging from the door frame. He rang the doorbell and waited in silence, straining to hear footsteps approaching.

“Hi there,” a man’s voice said. He was tall, had graying hair and light blue eyes. He looked nothing like he had imagined Dottie’s dad would look like. “You one of Dottie’s friends?”

“Y-yeah,” Eddie said nervously and cleared his throat. “Yes, sir, I’m Eddie.”

“Come on in, kid, you’re just in time for the pizza. You can leave your gift on that table, we open them at candle time. Dorothy! You’ve got one more!”

The man hurried down the hallway leaving Eddie to his devices. The teen looked around curiously, taking the opportunity to get into his usual confident persona in private. He noticed a stack of gifts on the entrance table next to the door and felt incredibly shy putting his on top of them; he’d used at least three times more tape than everyone else had used. Hanging his winter coat amongst the myriad of other jackets already on the rack, he rolled his shoulders and walked down the entryway towards the direction the man had disappeared into. Eddie found himself standing in a cozy and modern-looking living room, the rest of the Hellfire Club lounging around on the couch, the floor or on a few beanbags. Jeff, Mike, and Donny were playing cards at the coffee table with another man, dark haired with a short but carefully kept beard. Dustin had thrown himself on a beanbag and was listening to Erica argue about the Supreme Court with the man that had opened the door, and he spotted Gareth coming in from the kitchen with two bottles of soda on his hands, one of them Dr. Pepper.

“Hey, man!” Mike said, noticing him. “We thought you weren’t coming.”

“Nah, just couldn’t find the right house,” Eddie lied, but it was innocent enough for them to buy it.

“Hey, I’m Robert, Dottie’s uncle,” said the dark haired man, putting his hand out to shake Eddie’s without getting up from his spot on the floor.

“Dude, her uncles play D&D too!” Jeff exclaimed excitedly.

“You’re the DM, right?” Robert asked, things starting to click into place for him.

“Yeah, I’m-”

“Eddie!” Dottie’s gleeful scream interrupted his introduction.

Eddie’s hello got stuck in his throat when he turned to see her setting down two plates full of homemade pizza on the dining table and rush to greet him with a tight hug. A mass of curly hair collided against him and he had to thank his quick reflexes for instantly putting his arms around her or else he would have looked like an idiot in front of everyone. She was wearing a white button up shirt with a big collar, a black high-waisted suspender skirt, see-through black tights with silver sparkles that glinted when she walked, and black boots. He noticed she had done her makeup and her hair was a little bit curlier than normal; if Eddie had to be pressed for a theory he would have said she had obviously tried to style herself like Molly Ringwald, one of her favorite teen actresses. She looked up at him from her spot against his chest and smiled. He nearly forgot how to breathe.

“Hey,” he forced himself to say, aware that people were watching. “Happy birthday!”

“Thank you! You got just in time for pizza,” she said, leaving his warmth to catch one of the plates a third man was carrying from the kitchen and safely putting it down on the dining table. “Are you guys gonna eat here or are we moving?” she leaned over her Uncle Robert’s shoulders, taking a peek at his cards.

“We can eat and play at the same time,” the man answered, patting a spot next to him on the floor. “Sit down, kiddo, you haven’t stopped moving since noon.”

“Where were you?” Gareth asked, putting a plastic cup in Eddie’s hand.

“Got lost on the way, ended up at your house,” he lied again.

“You’re Eddie?” the third man asked, setting a plate and napkins on the coffee table; Mike and Jeff hurried to grab the cheesiest pieces. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Really? About lil ol’ me?” Eddie joked, putting a hand on his chest.

“You’re quite the talented storyteller, Dottie says,” Pizza Man affirmed, Dottie instantly making an exasperated face at him. “I’m James, the Dad.”

“Nice to meet you, sir,” he put on his best winning smile and put his hand out to shake his. “You have a beautiful house.”

“Thanks, kid,” James said, amused, shaking the teen’s hand. “Now what’s this I’ve heard about a pack of gnolls getting distracted by two pregnant mules?”

Eddie felt as if he had stepped into an alternate reality of sorts, a place where parents weren’t afraid of him corrupting their children and he was treated with respect and kindness regardless of how he looked like. James was clearly the coolest dad figure he’d ever met, and Uncles Joseph and Robert were very close behind. The three of them had entertained the teens all night with stories about their college times, their own D&D adventures, and assorted misbehaving. It was clear to all of them, however, that their favorite topic aside from “the good old times” was Dottie.

At some point during the party, a box of photos had come out, and much to Dottie’s shame, the three men had proceeded to tell everyone the most terrible and embarrassing tales from her childhood: from her throwing up on her dad’s car after eating too much at a ren fair at age four to her kicking a boy during her middle school prom after he made fun of the flowers in her hair (Oh, he deserved it, said Erica and everyone agreed with her), not forgetting to take a quick detour on her crush on Silver Spoons’ Jason Bateman.

“Oh my god, it wasn’t that big of a deal!” she hid her face in shame behind Donny’s shoulder, who couldn’t stop laughing.

“Honey, you were in love with the kid.”

“I was 13, that wasn’t love! It was at most a little innocent crush!”

“How in love are we talking about here?” Dustin inquired, rocking back and forth on his knees.

“Oh, we’re talking the whole deal, posters on the walls, love letters-”

“I never sent them!” she tried to defend herself, but Erica already had tears in her eyes. The amount of blackmail that girl was storing away for future use was nearing dangerous levels. “It was just… creative writing!”

“You always did love the bad boys,” Uncle Joe said, much to Eddie’s enjoyment.

“Did?” James commented, getting up to get the cake. “You saw her last year when Better Off Dead came out.”

“No! No, no, no, we’re not talking about this anymore! That movie was terrible!”

“If it was so bad then why did you ask Mary Elizabeth to take you to see it twice?” Uncle Robert said, with an air of finality, making Gareth laugh so hard he lost balance on the couch armrest and had to catch himself on Mike’s shoulder before his ass hit the floor.

As the laughter died down and cake and coffee was being set up at the table, everyone started drifting into different parts of the living room to stretch their legs and break off into little conversations leaving Dottie to collect the photos on the coffee table with incredibly red cheeks. Eddie took pity on her and kneeled down to help, curiously looking at the pictures he hadn’t gotten to see with much interest. Dottie was a puzzle he just couldn’t begin putting together, she was full of contradictions and hidden secrets that pulled him in more and more every time he learned something new about her.

His eyes stopped at a photo that seemed to be stuck to the back of another one; the image on top was a snap of little Dorothy dressed for a school play as an 1800s maiden. Taking a glance at Gareth and Dustin peering through the vinyl collection under the TV, he carefully pulled the two pictures apart and discovered a tender picture of a very young woman holding a sleeping baby against her chest. It didn’t have a date on it but if he had to guess, he was willing to bet his best guitar on the tiny baby being Dottie.

“That’s my Mom,” a soft voice coming from his side said. He looked up to see Dottie leaning close to him, her gaze wistful on the photographic paper in his hand. “That’s the last picture we have of her.”

“How old were you?”

“In this photo? Around six months, maybe? She died before my first Christmas so this is around October.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Eddie said, his own heart raw. “I, uh… I know what that’s like.”

“I know,” he looked up at her admission. “Donny mentioned it once when I told him about my Mom, I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t wanna ask in case you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” he smiled and moved his eyes again to the photo. “What was her name?”

“Margaret,” Dottie said, love dripping from every syllable. “Maggie, if she really liked you.”

“She was really pretty.”

“She was. I look nothing like her,” she chuckled.

It wasn’t a lie; Dorothy Burke was practically a carbon copy of her Dad. Her hair was a much lighter shade of brown than his, and while his was straight, hers was naturally wavy, but every other distinctive feature was from James, not Margaret. Her long thin fingers, her straight nose, her full eyebrows, they were all James, James, James. Margaret had a button nose, short stubby fingers and blonde hair. Dorothy often thought that life had been rather unfair to her; she couldn’t look at her Mom in the mirror as she aged and feel like she was growing up with her nearby. She didn’t resent looking like her Dad, she loved him, but there was always a part of her that shone brighter right after someone told her that she resembled her mother in any way.

“You’re right, you don’t,” Eddie admitted, slipping the picture into the box on her lap. “Doesn’t mean you aren’t beautiful too.”

Dottie watched him get up and go stand next to her Uncle Joseph who was trying to convince Erica she’d be a great lawyer one day, and from the looks of it, had her on board with it. He thinks you’re beautiful, her brain chimed in. Eddie Munson thinks you are beautiful. She put the lid back on the box and went into the kitchen to help with cake preparations, her heart feeling both heavier and lighter at the same time.

“Open ours first!” Dustin said while he thrust a big box wrapped in glossy gift paper into Dottie’s arms.

“We asked my Mom for ideas, hope it’s okay,” Mike said, a little bit embarrassed he had to ask for backup for something as simple as a birthday present for a friend.

“I’m sure I’ll love it,” Dottie reassured him, tearing into the paper. “Aw, guys! This is so cute!”

They were sitting around the coffee table again after blowing the candles, James and Robert passing out pieces of cake on paper plates as they completed The Presents Ritual as directed by Uncle Joe. Inside Dustin and Mike’s box, there was a stationery set complete with a yellow folder covered with a daisy pattern and a matching pencil case.

“We know you love yellow and daisies,” Dustin said. “And now you can use this for Hellfire instead of your old ass binder.”

The old ass binder in question had fallen apart last Friday during a particularly intense fight that involved a horde of pixies and a bunch of terrible rolls. Next presents were equally thoughtful and Hellfire Club related; Jeff had gotten her a set of glittery dice (“So you don’t gotta use your Dad’s anymore”) and Erica’s little box had contained a set of mini figurines and paint. Donny’s bag, however, was full with a bunch of oversized colorful earrings and jelly bracelets (“My sisters said you might like these”). Gareth and Eddie looked at each other, silently deciding who was gonna go last.

“Alright, who’s next?” Uncle Joseph asked, looking at the two boys.

“You can go first,” Eddie hurried to say, acting like he was giving up his spot out of the kindness of his heart. A Beatles Greatest Hits vinyl was playing in the background.

“Mine’s a little bit… weird,” Gareth said, looking shy all of a sudden. “And it isn’t in the color I wanted but-”

“Dude,” she put her hand on top of his. “Shut up.”

“Okay,” he laughed, watching her rip the soft tissue paper and unfold a gray fuzzy blanket.

“A blankie?” Jeff looked at him, a joke ready on his tongue.

“Michigan gets really cold so…. I thought you might like this since I’m not gonna be around for you to steal my flannels anymore.”

“That’s… shit, you can’t do this to me, I’ve been crying all week!” she grinned at him. “You’re so sweet, G, thank you,” Dottie pulled him into a hug, the blanket bunched up between them.

“I wanted yellow, blue or white but they only had red or gray in this size.”

“Gray is perfect, I love it. I’m gonna take it to class with me when it snows.”

“Hold on, why did you say Michigan?” it was Mike’s turn to be confused.

“She got into UMich,” Donny told him.

“Wait, what?” Erica did a double take.

“You��re the full ride Michigan kid?” Jeff said, putting two and two together.

“You didn’t know?” Gareth asked.

“I only told you and Donny,” Dottie admitted, looking at the floor.

Eddie felt something akin to an arrow to the chest. She hadn’t told them. She only told Gareth and Donny. She didn’t tell me.

“Why didn’t you tell us? A full ride is awesome, you should talk about that more,” Dustin said.

“I don’t know, I… I haven’t really thought about college yet. We still have to finish the campaign, and there’s prom and finals first. It’s not a big deal.”

“Dottie, a full ride absolutely is a big deal,” Uncle Robert reminded her, aware of her tendency to minimize her achievements. “You should be proud of it, you earned that on your own.”

“I know but like… I don’t leave until September. Other things feel more important to me right now, I don’t wanna think about it yet.”

“Sorry I spilled the beans,” Gareth looked sheepish.

“No, it’s okay, I should have told you guys. I’m glad everyone knows, though, I promise I wasn’t hiding it. It just really never came up.”

“Well, with a 3.74 GPA we should have guessed it was you,” Eddie smiled, infinitely proud of her and yet terrified that she was pulling away before he even had a chance to make himself at home in her life. “Don’t be a stranger when you’re gone, alright? Don’t join another party without us.”

“You think you can get rid of me that easily, Munson?” she joked back, slipping into their usual banter for comfort.

“Alright, why don’t we open the last present before James starts moping about his baby leaving for college?” Uncle Joseph said, looking at his dear friend’s face.

“I’m not moping!” he defended himself, but it was clear to everyone that he was.

Eddie cleared his throat dramatically, walked towards her, dropped to one knee with his head bent, and presented the gift like one would present a sword to a king. She laughed and grabbed the soft package; he sprung instantly to his feet and put his arms behind his back, waiting. Dottie narrowed her eyes at him as she undid the ribbon and teared into the crinkly paper. She unfolded a very familiar looking shirt and stared at it with an unfocused gaze.

“It’s been almost a month and you still didn’t have one, so I printed one for you,” Eddie explained. “I hope it’s the right size.”

She looked up at him like he’d just given her his firstborn and threw herself at him with teary eyes. Welcome to Hellfire, Eddie had said during her first session, but this, this was different. This wasn’t a “Welcome to Hellfire” or an acceptance to his club. This was Eddie saying you belong with us in the form of a shirt. In the background, they could hear the boys making a scene, teasing him and complaining that they had had to make their own shirts when they had joined.

“Thank you,” she muttered against his chest. It seemed to Eddie that she did that more and more often every day: hiding her face into his body. He wasn’t complaining. “This means more than you know.”

“Means a lot to me too, darling,” he lowered his face into her hair and whispered back. “Happy birthday.”

Dottie was only vaguely aware that Oh! Darling was playing through the speakers as he squeezed her like he never wanted to let go.

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