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sepublic · 4 years

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Eda and the Blight Family

Before we start, I think it’s safe to say that Amity isn’t adopted. Aside from the fact that her parents would be way too elitist and bigoted to do that sort of thing… Amity’s resemblance to her mother is uncanny, they’re dead-ringers for one another! And we know brown hair runs in the family from her father, so…!

I have to wonder which parent married in? MAYBE Mr. Blight, because his hair looks a bit messier than his future wife’s, so maybe he wasn’t as prim and proper and of ‘noble’ standing as her…? It’s a stretch. Either way they’re both awful, but have also been around for a LONG time as well…! Like, unless their parents specifically set them up to do it from childhood (which would not shock me), those awful two still nevertheless probably enjoyed each other’s company as kids!

Also, it’s obvious that Mr. Blight isn’t the Abomination Head! We see him as a kid when Eda and Lilith are, yet we know that the Abomination Head was an adult who assisted Belos in his rise to power some years prior! Of course maybe it’s GRANDPA Blight who’s in charge of the Abomination Coven, hence both Blight Parents being in that track… But I digress! My point is, it’s not Mr. Blight!

They were also THERE when Eda stood up against the Coven System, and as if by some cruel twist of fate just so happened to transform into a monster immediately afterwards… GOODNESS I can see how conceited Mrs. Blight is, no doubt snickering behind Eda’s back, probably contributing to bullying and actually thinking that Eda deserved this! Mr. Blight, from his expression LOOKS like he could’ve been a more apathetic dude… But obviously not anymore, as we see in Understanding Willow!

I have to wonder if Eda and the Blight Parents ever actually interacted as children in any meaningful capacity, or if it was just them being in the same room as one another and noticing the other’s presence, and quietly reacting whenever something big went up? How did the Blight Parents feel about Lilith, Eda’s ‘better’ sister, who they may as well have trusted to tutor Amity, their Golden Child? Goodness, did the Blight Parents contribute to Eda’s bullying and torment for the curse!?

Did they ever tell their children about Eda and Lilith? Did the Blight Parents set down their kids and tell them about Lilith, the proper, GOOD sister who is responsible and joined the Emperor’s Coven, and showed her unruly sister what was right… Versus Eda, the outcast and troublemaker with ideas, who was punished by the universe itself by being transformed into a monster?!

What kind of horrific slander did they spread of Eda, speaking of the curse like it was her fault? Did the Blight Parents have some sort of sick and twisted respect for Lilith in that she proved herself better than Eda… That she was the golden example, the one who didn’t fall from the intended path and was rewarded as the Head of the Emperor’s Coven, while her rebellious sister only suffered?

No doubt, when Eda the Owl Lady became a reputed criminal, the Blight Parents made sure to make it VERY clear what had happened that day, potentially even exaggerating a detail or two, making it obvious just how much of a savage Eda is… And, I think it says a lot. That when Emira and Edric meet Eda for the first time, they just do NOT bat an eye whatsoever at her! That at most they’re interested in her admittedly unorthodox method of teaching, but there’s no judgment on their part and Edric is even willing to give Eda’s advice a try!

Like, those twins still suffered a LOT of abuse and absorbed plenty of toxicity from their parents, but. It’s clear from the way they approached Luz and embraced her as a friend immediately, that they do NOT care what their parents have to say about others! That if their parents have a bad opinion of someone, then that person is probably cool, that they’re defiantly telling off their parents by happily minding the presence of the freakish Owl Lady they had warned so much against! It’s just so open-minded, and while obvious Emira and Edric may have been too critical of Amity and her less open mind, it still speaks so much of their characters and how they just don’t mind other people!

And Amity… Alas, Amity’s demeanor seems to become more cold and closed-off when Eda becomes more apparent. I’d always noticed that, which makes sense- She likes Luz, but Eda is a Wanted Criminal and Amity still has her things to unlearn! But coupled with what her parents like said of the Owl Lady, and…!

Honestly, it says a lot just how much those kids have managed to grow and defy their parents. To ultimately accept this alleged ‘freak’ that they no doubt heard cautionary tales and stories about, of a witch who was punished by the universe itself for going down the wrong path… For ultimately accepting Eda! Specifically, how Amity and Eda share that small moment during Grom, where they regard one another, and make it clear that regardless of any preconceptions or feelings, Luz is in danger and they both agree that they love her!

And then Amity sees how unconditionally loving and accepting of Luz that Eda is. She sees how safe Luz feels around her, so much more safe and open than Amity has ever felt around her parents. And so when her leg is broken, her visiting the Owl House and being accepted by Eda, because Eda KNOWS that Luz likes her… It says so much how Amity has grown! How much she’s rejected and unlearned the ‘Blight lineage’, alongside her siblings! That maybe she doesn’t exactly want to be like them, but in a way Amity still followed in the twins’ footsteps, namely down the path that mattered!

And I can only imagine how it’ll turn out, when the Blight Kids side with Eda. When their abusive parents bring up the curse, and warn them that all three will likely be transformed into monsters by the universe as spiteful karma for their wrongdoing! And as scared as they are…

The Blight Kids KNOW that won’t happen (especially since Lilith opened up about the truth), and they keep going on anyway. That they don’t know much about this funky Owl Lady, but if people like their parents and Belos hate her, then clearly she’s got something good going on; Especially since they feel safer and more accepted by her than by any other adult they’ve come across!

And finally… It says a lot of Eda. That the Blight Parents, who likely contributed to her mistreatment, to her feelings of being a freak who deserved to be hated and despised… She sees their kids, and while she rightfully has reservations, she just. Quickly accepts them as family, gives them a spot and a home if they ever need it!

No doubt Eda is operating under the correct assumption that the Blight Parents are abusive, if her memories of them as children are any indication… But still. Amity, Emira, and Edric were born of those two awful individuals, but Eda still gave them a chance to be individuals, because that’s what she always does, letting people embrace who they are REALLY, separate from what the Coven System or anything else may insist upon or dictate!

That those kids have definitely been influenced toxicly by their parents, but they’re still kids and they’re still their own people! That Eda isn’t going to project her anger onto them, that she isn’t going to expect them to fit a specific standard laid out by their bloodline… Nah, she just gives these kids the chance to be who they really are! And the Blight kids recognize this, and are just… SO enamored by this funky Owl Lady! The twins especially, knowing she had to have been great if their parents hated her so!

Imagine the Blight Parents raising their kids, warning them of Eda the Owl Lady, telling them that they wouldn’t want to be like her… When in reality, that’s EXACTLY who those kids want to be like, no doubt partly in defiance to their own parents’ abuse!

#the owl house #owl house #the owl house amity #amity blight #the owl house edric #edric blight #the owl house emira #emira blight #the owl house eda #edalyn clawthorne #speculation

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chasholidays · 6 years

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Hello yes I would like to request a Cutting Edge AU for Bellarke. Because figure skating and snark.

“I found a new partner for you.”

Bellamy frowns, looking at his phone to verify that the caller really is Raven, like he didn’t see the first time and doesn’t recognize her voice.

“A business partner?”

He can practically hear her rolling her eyes, and he can’t deny that he deserves it. “No, dumbass.”

“A skating partner? Seriously?”

“What’s so unbelievable about that? I’m the one who got benched, not you.”

In theory, it’s true, but in practice, the end of Raven’s career was the end of Bellamy’s too. He could have found another partner, maybe, but he felt as if that had been his shot, and he’d let her down. They both fucked up, but she’s the one who paid for it.

It was easy to quit after that. It would have been so much harder to stay.

“I retired.”

“Haven’t you ever seen a sports movie? I’m telling you to come out of retirement for one last game. Or, you know, one last Olympics.”

“How did you get involved in—whatever you want me to get involved in?”

“You know Clarke?”

“Griffin?”

“Yeah.”

Bellamy’s only met Clarke Griffin once, at the last Olympics. They literally ran into each other, got in a fight, and left annoyed with each other. From what he can tell, that’s kind of the norm for Clarke. She’s one of those athletes who’s so focused on the game that she doesn’t really see anything else.

“What about her?”

“She wants to get into figure skating.”

He actually chokes on his shock, splutters and flails until he can manage, “What?”

“You heard she had to quit hockey?”

“I don’t really keep up.”

“She took a bad hit, lost her peripheral vision. But she still wants an Olympic medal.”

“And she just assumes she can get one figure skating?” he asks, scowling. “Like it’s just like hockey?”

“Aren’t you coaching hockey right now?” Raven asks, unimpressed. “Ice is ice.”

“You never told me how you got involved. Or why you want me involved.”

“Clarke can be—“ She thinks over the word she wants, and Bellamy can supply a few of his own. She was a good player, but not exactly popular. “Abrasive. And she needs to learn the basics. You’re a teacher and you’re not going to let her scare you off. Her parents are paying,” she adds. “Room and board and a stipend. So it’s not like you’re going to burn cash chasing some stupid dream.”

“Her parents are.”

“Trust me, they can afford it. Come on,” she adds, in a tone he recognizes from years of working together. “I know you still want it.”

He closes his eyes, leaning back into the sofa. It’s not as if he’s unhappy here. He teaches skating at the family rink, coaches too. It’s a much smaller life than being a professional athlete, but not a bad one.

“How much is the stipend?” he asks, and Raven takes it for the agreement that it is.

The first thing Clarke says when she sees him is “Seriously?” so they’re clearly off to a good start.

“That was my reaction, yeah. You want to be a figure skater?”

She huffs. “I want to be a hockey player, but apparently that’s not in the cards.”

“Do you even know anything about figure skating? Because it’s definitely harder for the girl, traditionally. You’re going to have a lot to do.”

“I did figure skating for a few years, before we decided hockey was a better fit. Plus, you know. My mom.”

That one’s fair. Abby Griffin only ever got silver in figure skating, and Bellamy’s sure a few years for her was a lot more intense than whatever he was doing at that age. It took a while for anyone to notice how good he was; Clarke was being groomed for it since she was a kid.

“So what’s your issue with me?” he asks. “You want an Olympic skater, I’m an Olympic skater. I’m the one who’s supposed to teach a hockey player how to do a triple axle.”

“That’s Raven’s job, not yours.”

“I’m assuming you’re going to need all the help you can get. If you want to get to the Olympics.”

She scowls, but it’s reflexive, and once she’s had a second to collect herself, her face smooths out. “I thought you were retired.”

“I was. But I want to see how bad you are at this.”

The scowl is back in full force, like he thought it would be. If he and Clarke aren’t going to like each other–and he can’t imagine they will–then they might as well use spite as a motivator to do well. He’s going to be the best fucking skater in the world, if for no other reason than he’s not going to let her blame him if shit goes wrong.

“You want to see?” she demands. “Then get on the fucking ice, Blake.”

She doesn’t have to tell him twice.

What Bellamy forgot, partly because it had been a while since he had a new partner and partly because he’s pretty good at denial, is that getting close to people he skates with is basically inevitable. He and Clarke fight it as hard as they can, sniping at each other non-stop, Bellamy making fun of Clarke when she forgets about her toe pick, Clarke blowing up every time he so much as fumbles, but they’re still a team, and teams need to work together. They start joking around a little, talking about favorite books and movies, how they started skating.

He’s starting to like her, and then they have the most catastrophically bad practice they’ve had since they started all this, ending with Bellamy fumbling and dropping her, and the ensuing screaming match ends with her saying, “Maybe I just don’t want to end up like Raven!”

It’s too far, and all three of them know it. Bellamy’s looking right at her, which means he gets to see the change in her face, the second of anger that turns immediately into horror, and she’s turning away from him, looking to Raven, stammering apologies, and Bellamy’s suddenly unable to be there. If they try to get him to stay, he doesn’t hear it, and he doesn’t listen.

Deep down, when he’s honest, Bellamy knows Raven’s injury wasn’t his fault, or hers, or anyone’s, really. Things go wrong in skating, like they do in all sports. They’d done the move well a thousand times and fumbled it a thousand more, and this was the time they fumbled it badly, where everything went wrong and it left Raven’s leg permanently damaged. If he’d done things differently, it wouldn’t have happened, but deep down he knows it’s like chaos theory. If the ice had been different, if she’d been at another angle, if she’d landed better, that all would have changed things too. His own failure was a factor, but it was only one thing, and if he was the only one responsible, it wouldn’t have been so bad an injury as it was.

Clarke finds him sitting in the locker room, staring at his hands. He doesn’t know how long it’s been, but he realizes he’s cold and needs to change.

“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I’m an asshole.”

“I did drop you.”

“Bellamy,” she says, sharp, and he looks up at her. It seems like she might have been crying. “That was unfair to both of you. You didn’t do anything wrong, and Raven doesn’t deserve to be treated like a cautionary tale.”

“You were pissed, I get it,” he says, and she shakes her head.

“I tried to pull that with my dad when I was a teenager. I lost my temper, said something shitty, said I was just mad and didn’t mean it. And he told me that the things you say when you’re mad don’t just come out of nowhere. They’re usually the most honest things that you’d never say. But that doesn’t mean–” She sighs. “I used to see athletes get hurt, and I told myself it was–avoidable, I guess. Like if you do everything right, bad things won’t happen to you. And I know that’s bullshit, I know it’s bullshit. But it’s a lie you tell yourself to feel better. I’m so good, it could never happen to me. But you guys–I used to watch you, you know? Mom’s the one who discovered Raven, and I always liked her. And as shitty as it is, when it happened, I thought, well, if only they’d done it differently.”

“I think that too. Fuck, that’s all I thought, for–”

To his surprise, she reaches over, takes his hand and squeezes it. “Things can go wrong without you doing anything wrong, Bellamy. It’s shitty that I still think things like that, somewhere, and I shouldn’t have said it. But that doesn’t make me right.”

It’s not what he was expecting. “You’re usually not this mature after you yell at me.”

“Usually when I yell at you, you deserve it. That was uncalled for and wrong. I’m an asshole for saying it.”

“And a lot of other reasons,” he teases, and she smiles.

“That too.”

“You talked to Raven?”

“Yeah. It’s been a tough day, we were going to go get drunk. You want to come?”

“Isn’t your body a temple or something?”

She stands and offers her hand, and he takes it. “Plenty of temples accept alcohol as offerings. And I don’t drink much these days, so my tolerance is shot. It won’t even take much.”

He feels himself smile, unexpectedly. Friendship was inevitable, and apparently Clarke owning her mistake and apologizing wholeheartedly was the last step.

“Cool,” he says. “I’m in.”

At the bar, he wraps his arm around Raven while Clarke is in the bathroom, drawing her in and kissing her temple. They hashed the whole thing out a thousand times, after it happened, but he figures there’s no harm in checking in. “You good?”

“I’m good. You good?”

“Yeah. I’m still going to get a medal.”

“You and Clarke are going to get one medal and I’m taking the other. You two can share.”

“That seems fair.” He takes a drink of beer. “You really think we’ve got a shot?”

“Honestly? I really do.”

Clarke: I can’t believe you abandoned me for this

Me: You can’t believe I wanted to spend Christmas with my family instead of yours?Really?Do I need to send more baby pictures because I willMy nephew is adorable, Clarke

Clarke: I’m getting ten billion questions about youIt would be so much easier if you were here to help answer them

Me: Questions about me?What questions?

Clarke: You came out of retirement to help me cross over into a new sportAnd we’re actually good at itIt’s all anyone wants to talk aboutPlease send more baby picturesI need a break

Me: Sorry I didn’t know we were so popular

Clarke: You should beWhen are you coming back again?

Me: I’ll be there for New Year’sYou miss me?

Clarke: Desperately

“So,” says his sister, sitting down next to him and startling his attention from the phone. “Is that your new partner?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you really know what you’re doing?”

“Almost never.” He takes a sip of his drink. “If you have something to say about Clarke, you can just say it.”

“I know you say you always fall a little bit in love with people you skate with, but I’m thinking you went a little far with this one.”

It’s nothing he hasn’t been thinking. Clarke is difficult, prickly and stubborn, too hard on everyone, driven and focused to a fault, but those aren’t always negatives. She’s passionate and smart and beautiful, and Bellamy misses her too, fiercely.

“What’s wrong with falling in love?” he asks. “You’re married, I’m hoping that means you’re pro-relationship.”

Her eyes narrow. “Is that what you guys have? A relationship? Or do you have a crush on some rich girl who’s never going to talk to you again once the Olympics are over?”

It’s intended to be some kind of huge, life-changing question, and she’s clearly disappointed when he snorts. “I don’t know if she’s interested in dating me,” he says. “But she’s not just going to ditch me. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, but I’m one of them. I don’t know if anything’s going to happen, but–we’re good, O.”

Right on cue, his phone buzzes again, and he looks down to see her text: I really do miss you, though.

“She’s a good partner,” he says. “That’s all I care about.”

For a long moment, Octavia just watches him, and then she sighs. “I don’t want her to hurt you.”

“I know. I don’t think she will.”

Me: I miss you tooI’ll be back before you know itHere’s a baby picture

He looks back up at Octavia, smiles. “I think we’ll be fine.”

When they qualify for the Olympics, he kisses her, not quite on purpose, just a general expression of joy, and she’s the one to wind her arms around his neck, pull him back in, and really kiss him, warm and smiling and perfect.

“That took you long enough,” she murmurs, and he tugs her closer.

“Like you couldn’t have done it first.”

She ducks her head against his neck, and he can feel her grin. He can’t exactly blame her; they are, somehow, fucking miraculously going to the Olympics, and she definitely wants to date him, which is really good news. “I can be kind of an asshole.”

“I can too. I think we can probably make it work.” He kisses her again. “I want to. I’m kind of–”

“Yeah,” she agrees, pulling him back in, and they don’t say anything more until Raven bangs on the door.

“I know you two are celebrating, but save it! We’ve got work to do. You can have sex after you win the gold medal.”

She’s right, of course. And they absolutely do.

#brightcopperpenny

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phantommoonpeople · 4 years

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See More Daily Facts Here!

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cutsliceddiced · 5 years

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New top story from Time: I Won’t Let Racism Rob My Black Child of Joy

In the summer of 2016, I was pregnant and anxious. That July, while I was in my third trimester, police had killed a Baton Rouge man named Alton Sterling while he was pinned to the ground. The next day Philando Castile was shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn., while his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter sat inches away. Reading the news of these men’s deaths brought to mind black children who had died just as senselessly: 17-year-old Jordan Davis, gunned down at a Florida gas station by a white man annoyed by the music Davis and his friends played; 12-year-old Tamir Rice, killed by police in a Cleveland playground as he held a toy gun; 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, shot and killed by police during a middle-of-the-night raid on her home.

As I prepared for the birth of my first child, I could already see that I would need a plan in order to avoid succumbing to fear. I wanted my child to take risks, experiment and be bold but also knew that black children are often denied the presumption of innocence if their antics go the least bit sideways. Given the highly publicized deaths of black people at the hands of police and vigilantes, how could I teach my child to embody the carefree, messy freedom of youth that should be her birthright?

I began asking experts, by which I mean both professionals who work in public health and childhood development and black mothers and grandmothers across the country who had insight into raising kids. These questions and others would ultimately lead me to write my first book, We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood. But even after both the book and the baby were out in the world, I kept asking.

How did they do it? How should I?

I’ve gotten a range of responses. Many mothers suggested finding play and school environments that are intentional about giving black children room to be spontaneous and free, places where families don’t have to worry that their child’s developmentally appropriate boundary-pushing will be misinterpreted or punished. I learned, for instance, about Little Maroons, a Brooklyn-based preschool co-op and after-school program with an African-centered curriculum, as well as Detroit Summer and Sankofa in Cincinnati, youth development programs that offer safe havens for older children. Cat Brooks, a community organizer in Oakland, told me that maintaining structure and discipline at home helps her feel she’s doing all she can to keep her preteen daughter safe amid the world’s threats. City planner Christy Leffall and meditation teacher Shahara Godfrey, both also in Oakland, separately emphasized the importance of families finding a spiritual practice that offers calm and a way to make sense of suffering. For them, Buddhism has been a lifeline.

“You know how people are always like, ‘How’s the little man?’ I’m like, ‘He’s not a man, he’s a boy.’”One of my most memorable conversations was with Kim Tabari, a mother active in the Long Beach chapter of Black Lives Matter who co-founded a social-justice group for children. She said she made a conscious decision not to be an overprotective parent to her 11-year-old son after witnessing the behavior of a friend, a mother of a teenage black boy. After the teenager got into a fight on a bus, his mother forbade him from taking public transit, opting instead to drive him everywhere herself and otherwise curbing his independence. “She sheltered him because she was afraid. I said I’m not going to be that person,” Tabari told me. “I want to be in the habit of teaching him, of being joyful with him, exploring things.”

I asked Tabari what she did to manage her fears. “We try to laugh a lot. Be silly,” she said. “You know how people are always like, ‘How’s the little man?’ I’m like, ‘He’s not a man, he’s a boy.’” Tabari guards against efforts to hurry her son toward adulthood. The wider world does that too often. A 2014 study found that white women undergraduates perceive black boys as young as 10 to be four to five years older than they are. Black girls, especially those who are curvier, are disproportionately shamed and pushed out of classrooms by school officials who subjectively enforce dress code policies, according to a 2018 report.

Determined to adopt Tabari’s practice of orienting toward joy, I made sure my daughter’s life was filled with music and laughter. When Is was an infant, I’d put her in her baby seat and make up dance routines while I cooked. I’d put on Héctor Lavoe or Beyoncé and hold her while we danced around the kitchen. Now that she can play more independently, she’ll hear a song and stop what she’s doing to move to the beat. She recently asked my mom to play a Drake song she loves. “That’s my jam,” Is told her.

Our family-based immersions in silliness and song sufficed until my daughter hit the 18-month mark. Then I felt the need to get her around other children more often. As we entered library story circles, weekly music classes, toddler programs and playgrounds, I wondered how to help my daughter be joyful and carefree as we moved into the wider world. I needed to know how to prepare my daughter for the discriminatory treatment and exclusion that she was sure to encounter. But she was just learning to speak, just learning to trust anyone outside her small circle of intimates. How to introduce such complex ideas to someone so small?

I shared my concerns with Denese Shervington, chair of psychiatry at Charles R. Drew University in California and president of the New Orleans-based Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies, and she offered two age-appropriate tools to use as Is grows toward the preschool years: explicit limit-setting and storytelling. Young children can be extremely literal, even rigid, when told that something could harm them. Just think of the child who looks at you in horror when you suggest crossing the street against the light even with no cars in sight. Tell them certain things aren’t safe – playing with a toy gun in public, for instance – and younger children tend to listen without much questioning, Shervington said. As they get older, they’ll understand the social context, why some rules apply to them but not their white peers.

A recent NPR report pointed to the power of story as a deterrent to misbehavior in Inuit communities, and Shervington suggested something similar: weaving cautionary tales that scare our kids just enough so they’ll be less likely to do things that put in them in harm’s way – think of the boogeyman that terrified some of us in our youth. But rather than being explicit about potential consequences, we should leave room for youthful imagination. “We don’t have to tell them, ‘Because the police will kill you,’” she explained.

Equipped with specific ways to meet my responsibilities as the parent of a black child, I could be proactive and focused rather than sink into generalized worry and despair. There’s really only so much you can do, Shervington seemed to be saying. Do those things and move on. Don’t let racism rob your family of its joy.

Now, after two years of interviewing black mothers, I understand that simultaneously demanding that our children be allowed to be children and carefully introducing them to the realities of black life in this country are just part of the work. Dancing, laughing and finding pleasure in the small things may be of value to most families, but for black families, engaging in joyful practices is necessary to our survival, to our ability to fully claim our humanity.

On a recent sun-drenched day, I watched my daughter climb a jungle gym, agilely scaling the metal bars to move much higher than I’d seen her go before. She giggled when I praised her and was clearly proud of herself. I resisted the urge to caution her, and she didn’t call for my help until she’d tried and failed a few times to find her footing on the way down. This is how it will be, I thought. I may often see danger and hurt lurking, but she’ll be having fun, unaware of the risks involved as she explores the world. My task will be to stay involved, coaching or warning as it’s called for, trying to stay close enough to dart in if disaster strikes, but mostly giving her enough space to learn for herself how to maneuver this life.

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news

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gpamoments · 7 years

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NGEN Survery

1) What is your biggest fear? Shane: That someday I’ll be unable to go adventuring and be stuck in a nursing home or confined to bed rest. Zane: That I’ll end up being a burden somehow to my mum. She’s had so much to deal with and so I’m worried that maybe someday I’ll get into an accident and she’ll need to be a caregiver to me. Matthew: That somehow, someday I’ll force a girl into a situation that she’s not comfortable with by accident and she won’t tell me but that she’ll feel the same way I felt. I don’t ever want to be that person. Christopher: Dying young. I’ve got so much so much yet to do and not being able to do it is terrifying. Kelsey: That Isabella will die way before me. I don’t want to die second cause I don’t want her to do have go through that sort of hurt without me able to comfort her, but I don’t want to live more than a few weeks without her either. Natalie: Failure. The thought of being someone that my parents can be proud of, or that people use as a cautionary tale is horrifying. Karen: Becoming ugly. I know that sounds terrible, but I couldn’t imagine being like deformed or something and I don’t know how I’d survive if I was. Tamara: Not being remembered by anyone. I’m pretty scared of just like dying having no one around to care about me being gone.

2) Do you have any special objects from your childhood? Shane: I’ve got a whole twin brother from my childhood. Crazy, right? Zane: Not really. I kind of left the one special thing I had in England. It was a program from a play I’d gone to with my dad, but I didn’t want to be reminded of him. Matthew: I got a toy car that could be worked on when I was around ten for my birthday and it was really when I started looking into being a mechanic, even if it wasn’t serious. I keep it still though, since it was my start in the industry. Christopher: I have a signed jersey that I got from a football game I went to with my dad for my 8th birthday and he arranged for me to be able to meet a few of the players. Or maybe my Mom did, either way, it was really great. Kelsey: I’ve got a friendship bracelet that Isabella made me. It’s too small to wear now, but I still keep it in my jewelry box. Natalie: I have the first book I ever learned to read all the way through. It’s also what I made my first film on too, so it’s kind of important for me. Karen: I have a stuffed doll that stays on my bed at home, when I was really little I brought her everywhere and used to make her sit at the table and stuff with me. Tamara: I have this little pinky sparkly microphone that my older brother gave me when I said I wanted to be a singer at like age 4. I keep it on a shelf to remind me of my dreams.

3) What is your idea of perfect happiness? Shane: Out adventuring with Thomas and Kylee, making videos of our antics and getting paid to do it. Thomas admits me stole Emily from me, we get matching tattoos and bond over it. Kylee wears my shirts and looks cute, we have a happy an active sex life. I have all the money to travel whenever I want. Zane: Perfect happiness is a flawed concept that is unrealistic. There will always be something wrong in some capacity. I suppose perfect happiness is then just ignoring those things and focusing on the good things happening. In my case, I’d like to have a steady job where I save people’s lives and have a home life that makes my job’s difficulties much more bearable. Matthew: I live close to my family, I have my own garage and a loving relationship. I mean, probably, ideally with Mia, if things continue as they are. Christopher: Being able to take photos for a living. really, that’s all I’d need. Kelsey: Shopping out and about with Isabella, knowing I’ll be able to see my boyfriend later and having the money to buy what I want. Natalie: Making a film and having everything come together perfectly in the exact way I imagined it. It lets me know that my vision was a great one and that it translates how I was wanting it to. Karen: Dancing for an audience and having them enjoy it. That feeling of being lost in art and bringing everyone with you, it’s perfect. Tamara: Spending time with my friends at the mall or the beach and not having any responsibilities.

4) Give an unpopular opinion that you believe. Shane: There’s a thing as being too much in shape. Zane: There isn’t any such thing as soulmates. Matthew: Siblings make the best friends. Christopher: It’s better to be an only child than to have siblings. Kelsey: Star Wars is completely overrated. Natalie: Video games are a waste of time. Karen: Small boobs are way hotter than bigger boobs. Tamara: Redheaded girls aren’t that attractive.

5) On what occasions do you lie? Shane: To get out of trouble. Zane: I try not to lie that much, but I do lie to patients from time to time as part of the job. If they ask for test results or if there has been a diagnosis and the doctor hasn’t discussed it, I actually can’t tell them. Matthew: Sometimes to make people feel better. Sometimes when I don’t feel like talking about something. Christopher: I lie to keep my ass out of a situation I don’t want to be in. Kelsey: To my parents, mostly when I know they won’t approve of what I’m doing. Natalie: I mean everyone lies to keep things from being too awkward. So, that’s where I try to contain my lies Karen: I lie to my parents when I know they won’t like my choice in activities. Well, mostly my mom because my dad is pretty cool about most things I do. Tamara: Sometimes I lie about my feelings to people. I don’t like looking weak, so if I’m going to I try and avoid it at any costs.

6) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Shane: I'm not going to change anything, I’m awesome. Zane: I'd like to have a better memory, it’d make things easier for both school and just on the job in general. I do have charts that I can look at, but sometimes I waste time having to look up a medication that I’ve seen before but just can’t remember. Matthew: Being a bit taller would be nice. It doesn’t even have to be a lot taller, but a couple of extra inches wouldn’t hurt. Christopher: I'd like to be able to grow facial hair a bit better. Maybe time will fix that one. Kelsey: Uh, there’s like nothing because Isabella is perfect and that means I am too. Oh, like not physically? Nah, still not going to change anything. I like who I am. Natalie: I’d like to have a bit more curves. I’ve got an okay amount right now, but it all depends on angling and what I’m wearing. I’d like to have enough that it wouldn’t so drastically depend on those factors. Karen: If I was taller then I’d have a better shot at being a dancer. Well and if I had less boobs. Basically. I just need my mother’s figure. Tamara: I’d have bigger boobs. Not like huge, but just a nice C cup to fill out everything I wear better.

7) What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Shane: I’m not easily embarrassed, but I guess the most embarrassing thing is that I once got drunk and started having a conversation with my reflection, thinking it was Thomas. A friend took a video and sent it to me and everyone else later. Zane: I spilled my lunch all over myself my first day at school in the United States. There was a weird step up and I started to trip, but I managed to right myself. In doing so though, I tipped my tray toward me and my whole lunch went on me. Part of it was soup and it just looked like a pissed myself. Of course my mum was too busy working to come bring me a change of clothes, so I had to go around in those clothes all day. Matthew: Like most teenage guys, at one point I’d gotten an erection randomly but it was during gym and there was really no hiding it. Of course someone had to go and point it out to everyone. Christopher: I cried on my first day of kindergarten so hard that they had to call my dad to come and get me. For the rest of the year, I was known as the class crybaby and some unoriginal kids even continued that trend all the way through third grade. Kelsey: I was in the third grade and I really had to go to the bathroom, but the line was too long and I did not make it. All the other kids saw and called me Kelsey Tinklepants for months. Natalie: When I was around 13, I went to tell a guy that I liked him and he asked if I was joking. When I said he wasn’t, he laughed and called all his friends over to tell them what happened. Karen: I tripped down the stairs and fell with my skirt up in front of a bunch of people. And I was like probably 10 at the time, so my underwear were a ten year old’s and they had princesses but apparently that was uncool, so I got double teased. Tamara: Once I got sick on my teacher in front of the whole class. I was probably around eight and I just wasn’t feeling good, so I went up to tell my teacher that I had to go to the bathroom during silent reading and halfway through my explanation I just puked all over her. She was not pleased and I cried.

8) Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

Shane: Thomas. I don’t think it really needs an explanation. Zane: I guess at this point it’s my mum still. We’ve gotten so close after everything that we’ve been through together and I’d do anything for her. Maybe with more time that’ll change though. Matthew: I don’t know if there is a single most important person. I think right now it’s a tie between Noah and Mia. Though Mia is pulling ahead slightly in that race but if it ever came down to both of them needing me at the same time for something, I’d have a really hard time choosing. Christopher: I can’t try and pretend it isn’t to the point where it’s Eloise. I picked my school because of her. Juan is hanging in a close second though. Kelsey: There has never been a more obvious answer to a question in the history of the universe. Natalie: Lydia. I know I can go to her with anything and I have come to depend on that, on her being around. Karen: Me. I’m a person and I’m the most important one. I don’t do things for other people, I do them for myself. Tamara: Camilla. I’d be lost without her, I wouldn’t even really know how to function even.

9) If you could choose, how would you want to die?

Shane: I’d want to be doing something awesome. I don’t want to be wasting away of disease or whatever, I want to be living life. Zane: With dignity. People say that a lot, but it’s something I understand a lot better after being in the hospital. I want to die with my mental facilities about me, making my own choices until the end without everyone telling me how tragic my death is. Matthew: I guess I’d just want a death that isn’t too painful. Partly because I’m not big on pain and partly because I don’t want my family to have to watch me suffer. I’d want a death everyone can be at peace with. Christopher: Just give me something quick. I don’t want drawn out nonsense where everyone has to gather around for days just waiting for the moment. Get to the point, death. Kelsey: Everyone always says in their sleep, right? But like, then I’d be in my bedclothes and people would find me like that? I want to be looking damn good, so people will be like, oh no, double tragedy. She’s dead and she looked fabulous right before she died and no one got to enjoy it properly. Natalie: I’d like to die while I still understand the world around me. I never want to get to a point where I’m not sure of who I am or where I am. If I don’t have my mental faculties about me, I don’t want to keep going. Karen: I want to still be attractive looking. You know those old people where you’re like, wow she’s really put together? Yeah, if I get to the point where I can’t be put together it’d be horrible. So, I want to die while I’m still able to be put together. Tamara: Definitely in my sleep. I don’t want to be aware and in pain. Just take me while I’m dreaming about something and make sure I’m not suffering.

10) What was the wildest thing you've ever done, sexually?

Shane: So this girl I was with was like, you’re great with a camera right and I was like, yeah that’s what I do. So she was all, let’s make our own pron movie and I was like, okay yeah let’s do it. But she brought some props and costumes. She was very prepared for this.. Like, it ended up being hot to make, but not hot to watch back. Definitely not hot to watch back, it was really strange to watch back. Zane: I haven't been that wild of a sex partner. I guess once we left the curtains open and there was an apartment building not too far away with a window at the same level so they could have seen. Matthew: Once Mia and I had sex in my truck when it was in a parking lot at night. That was kinda wild. Christopher: I had a girlfriend who liked to have people watch, so like once we just invited someone in to watch us have sex. That was pretty wild, and a little awkward when I’d sometimes forgot we were being watched and then suddenly remember. Kelsey: I had sex in a classroom last year really close to when classes were about to start, so that was a rush. We definitely could have gotten caught. Natalie: I’m a virgin and I’m pretty tame when it comes to masturbation. Karen: I'd say that a threesome is definitely the wildest thing. Tamara: Nothing. I'm still a virgin.

11) When was the last time you cried?

Shane: I got drunk and saw this really cute video of a cat that was best friends with a tiger and I couldn’t help it. Zane: I made a mistake in the clinical setting and it left a patient in a lot of pain. It was fixable but it would take an hour and she was in extreme pain the whole time. Matthew: I hit my head on the bottom of a car the other day while working on it and it hurt like hell. Christopher: I don’t actually remember the last time I cried. Kelsey: I was watching a really sad movie and it just hit me really hard. Natalie: The last time I got sick, I was just feeling really terrible and I cried. Karen: I was having a really rough week at school and then I messed up some dance steps and got told off by my teacher. It was too much, I couldn’t help but cry. Tamara: I shed a few tears when I heard Victoria was going to go to prom with someone else.

12) Do you have any vices?

Shane: I can’t resist a joke, even if it isn’t the best of timing. Zane: None that I can think of. Maybe I can be a bit insensitive. Matthew: I don’t think so. I try not to have moral weaknesses. Christopher: I smoke from time to time. Kelsey: I am a gossip. Can’t help it, gossip is great. Natalie: I can’t think of any. Maybe I’m a bit prideful at times. Karen: I'm a vain person. So, yeah, my vice is vanity. Tamara: I might be a tad vain and prideful.

#survey #shane micklesen #zane harris #matthew steele #christopher quinn #kelsey steele #natalie martin #karen parker #tamara belden

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