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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jan 25, 2012 22:31:32 GMT -5
[This is a future thread <33]
The familiar sound of the bell clanging in the courtyard had not changed since his high school days, and Joshua glanced habitually out of the window to look at the tower before directing his gaze back to the class. "I'll see you all on Wednesday," he said, shuffling the papers on his desk and staying behind as the college students filtered out of the room in relief. They hadn't been very attentive today but he'd cut them some slack—it was a Monday, no one wanted to be here. He hadn't gotten much sleep over the weekend with the combined stress of his job and three children to boot, but he was hardly complaining. Josh liked where he was right about now and he wouldn't change it for anything. He took a sip of the now-cold coffee he'd gotten earlier in the morning and made a face, setting it back down. I'll pick up another on the way to the school. He had enough money to keep a mansion, he didn't need to worry about the meagre price of a Tim Hortons coffee.
Deciding to look for his wife before doing anything else, Joshua slipped into the staff room and glanced around. He smiled at one of the English professors and returned the greeting of his fellow History professor—"I'm doing really great, thanks, how are you?"—but did not see Nell. This didn't trouble him too much considering the castle was a huge place and she really could have been anywhere at this time. They were returning home together, though, so he didn't want to leave prematurely. "Have you seen Nell, by any chance?" he asked politely of the English professor. The woman shook her head with a brief, "Sorry." It was not exactly a secret that the two were married but nor did they go about flaunting it. After all, this was a workplace and not a prime area for public displays of affection. Maybe back in our high school days, he thought wryly, resisting the urge to chuckle. His coworkers were pretty fond of him and he didn't want to put the wrong idea in their head that he might be losing his marbles.
Joshua made his way to her actual classroom next, stopping only to break up a fight in the hallway. There was something immensely satisfying about being able to give detention now—he'd been the victim of such bad luck many times in his high school and college years, this felt like revenge. He allowed a private smirk as he turned away from the frustrated pair. Though he'd softened quite a bit and wasn't as caustic and standoffish as he'd been at one point, he still had a bit of a streak in him. Besides, the elementals had been Thunders. He might have dropped most of his alliance-related grudges (he was even fond of his own element again) but there was still a slight bitterness. This generation were ignorant of his past experiences and he tried to keep that in mind but... well, no one was perfect. He slipped up on occasion, but he could get away with it now. Damn, being a professor felt so good. He could only teach part-time now thanks to his other job and the children but that didn't bother him. At least he didn't have to give up history entirely.
His features split into a warm grin when he finally located the woman he'd been looking for, though he kept the desire to kiss her carefully reigned in. "Hey, Nelly," he greeted affectionately, gray eyes sparkling with mischief as he used the nickname. "You ready to go, or...?" He was not sure of whether she had other things she needed to take care of first. His thoughts went to the kids next, quickly doing the math in his head for how long they'd have to get there without being late. Annabel would be looking after their youngest but that left her unable to pick up the older kids from school. He didn't mind. He liked seeing his kids, even if they could be irritating on bad days. They'd have time at home, too, of course, but a little extra never hurt anyone. "How'd class go?" Joshua had always taken an interest in her day—he'd once asked about her college classes and now he inquired after the ones she taught. "It was a lazy morning—Monday's will do that to people, I suppose." He shrugged. Even he felt the pressure of a Monday at times and so he didn't blame other people.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jan 26, 2012 21:07:34 GMT -5
"That looks like dog crap." Nell’s student eyed the beaker filled with a thick, mysteriously brown liquid. He didn’t look too enthused, but like the rest of his class, he was glad they weren’t taking any notes right now. The reprieve was nice, and she loved to cut them slack. Maybe she was too soft. "Yeah it does, doesn't it?” she said with a smile. "Go ahead. The quarter’s in there." He had his hands in his pockets, and just kept looking at it. "Do you trust me?" He gave her a wary look. "Not sure..." Her expression remained unreadable, which wasn’t helping him in his decision. "What if I stuck my hand in first?" He gestured with his hand to the beaker. "Okay go first." The professor held up her finger, as if signaling him to stop and wait. "What if I was a complete stranger, would you still do it after me?" He shrugged. "I guess. Cuz I’d know there wasn’t anything bad in there.” He seemed to be trying to think of what kind of lesson this was, but last night’s booze-up must have still been clouding his thoughts. "Ooh but I could be blind and not know what I'm putting my hand in." He shook his head and gave her an incredulous look, as if she was going crazy. "But you're not."
She rolled up her sleeve and dipped her hand in, taking out a quarter. He followed suit and retrieved the other one she’d dropped in the liquid, looked around with a confused expression. "What you don't know is that you just stuck your hand in fecal matter." He dropped the quarter as if it had suddenly caught fire and held out his hand like it had betrayed him. "Calm down, it's mud," she said coolly, her face straight. "I don't believe you." She wiped off her hand with a paper towel before handing one to him. "Smell it then!" He leaned over and braced himself as he inhaled. "That was not okay," he said, but his peers laughing at the mini-freak out coaxed a smile from him. "I know, I'll give you candy after class for being such a good sport." She spoke as if he was a small child and waved her fingers to direct him back to his seat. Nell stepped in front of the desk and leaned against it as she noticed the time. Class was about to end, and she was glad her students were happy about that. "We as humans are designed to work together. We trust each other by instinct. If someone were to see me pick a berry out in the wild, eat it, and turn out okay, chances are they would follow suit. However, it might be that I slowly built up a tolerance to a poisonous plant by eating small amounts and using an antidote." She held up her hands as if surrender when people started to murmur about why she would so that. "By pure instinct, we trust each other.” The bell rang then and she threw up her hands, "Have a good day, don’t do anything I would do. And papers are due Friday." She had to raise her voice to make sure they caught her words as they left.
The student she had tortured approached her after class and she opened up her drawer to give him a lollipop. She took out a pen so she could mark a paper, but he said he had questions on the paper. "I only have ten pages and I don't know what else to add." She sat on the edge of her desk, crossing her ankles and said, "Really? There's a lot to put in, it's like a..." She made motion with her hands as she tried to find a good analogy before pointing her pen at him, "Jambalaya.” He blinked. "You're weird." She nodded. ”And I can still give you a detention even though you're in college, you know," she said matter-of-factly, and (most) of her students understood when she was joking. "Right, uhmm...I think I got all of it." They spent the next fifteen minutes discussing the paper before he left and she went to the washrooms to rinse out the beaker and return it to Professor Lane.
When she got back to her classroom, she took the watering can she kept around the room so her plants didn’t die. Of course, she could just use her own powers, but she enjoyed the motions. Nell looked over and smiled when she saw her husband. ”Hi Joshy,” she teased before returning to the next plant that needed her attention. ”Just a few more then I’ll be ready to go.” It didn’t take long, and she went over to her desk to slip her papers into her messenger bag before placing it on her shoulder. "I'd have to say it went well. Even though I may have traumatized one of my students." She grinned languidly. He’d get over it, after all. Josh commented on the Monday lethargy and she pointed to him. Nell was not quite as affected by the ‘Mondays’. ”Practical application is the key. Though I don’t believe there is much you can do with history. Unless you stage a war reenactment.” It was true. It was even an effort with philosophy to find things that can make abstract concepts more real for her students. ”Hope they weren't too inattentive though.” College students were much easier than high schoolers, mostly because they were adults and they took classes they actually wanted. She took out her keys from her pocket to lock up the room and said, ”Time to pick up the rugrats.”
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jan 26, 2012 23:16:27 GMT -5
Joshua leaned against the doorframe of the room and cast a smile at his wife, observing the plants scattered around the room. It didn't not surprise him, of course, seeing as she'd always liked a lot of greenery. He'd grown used to it when he'd lived in her apartment for a while. "What if a student had an allergy?" The question was curious and he frowned thoughtfully at one of the plants, stepping forward to brush his fingertips lightly over the leaves. Allergies were a pain, especially when they got bad enough that the victim was hospitalized. People really ought to be more careful. Then again, he didn't know what it was like. He was allergy-free. Thinking deeper, he smirked. "Has it ever happened?" He was glad that their kids seemed immune to any sort of plant allergy. Maybe it was Nell's blood, which undoubtedly meant some sort of resistance, or maybe they were just lucky like he had been. Joshua watched the kids like a hawk when it came to their medical problems and he worried often, even when they were completely healthy. Part of being a father, he supposed. He wasn't quite so attached to the students at the Academy but after becoming a doctor he'd found he had a lot more compassion than he'd always given himself credit for.
A soft yet audible laugh brushed past his lips. "Traumatized? What did you do?" He was not worried, knew that it was probably something silly and harmless. Trust was still an issue with him but he trusted Nell unconditionally. She probably had something to say about that from one of her Philosophy books. Ah, well. If she was secretly a mass murderer who had seduced him and woven a careful web of lies over the years, at least he'd die relatively happy and a father to boot. "Mm. We tried that once. It was very... loud. They did get into it, though." One of the students had suggested that History was boring and Joshua had been quite determined to prove him wrong. He'd been taking the class as a part of another major but he'd certainly had fun with the next class. Joshua also tried for less conventional things as opposed to long lectures (although in some cases, like today's lesson, he understood that lectures were the way to go) because he didn't want to bore his class. He understood what it could be like to listen to three and a half hours of ramble. It would put a lot of people to sleep.
"No, I'm exaggerating," he said with a slight smile. "I've apparently built up a reputation for myself and I think a lot of them are afraid they'll fail if they miss something." His gray eyes twinkled with slight amusement as he spoke. Joshua was only as strict as he thought they could handle, though he did joke around about his classroom being a dictatorship sometimes. He knew that teachers who imposed too many boundaries and threats upon a class would be setting themselves up for bitterness and so he tried to push the students to do their best but not strive too hard. He was always willing to discuss the lessons afterwards and go over them for someone who'd missed something, rescheduling if he had somewhere to be, like today in picking up his kids. It was ironic that he'd once assumed he would be a fierce and merciless teacher. He'd had a lot of anger in his younger years, hadn't he? The thought made his lips twitch in amusement. "I'm feeling quite good myself, though. I got used to strange days and hours at the hospital, of course." Monday didn't always put him down, just sometimes. He was a morning person and he was really an any-day person provided he hadn't been kept up all night with their youngest.
He stepped out of the room so that Nell could lock up without locking him in, nodding when she mentioned the 'rugrats'. "So it is." It was hard for him to pinpoint the favourite part of his day. He loved both of his jobs, his kids, his wife. He was happy with where he was in life and he didn't think there was anything he'd change about it if he could. Except perhaps Annabel. He was still saddened by what had befallen her and he'd been incredibly frustrated with himself when he'd been unable to cure her. Science had advanced and yet something as stupid as cancer had ruined his baby sister's life? It sickened him. He tried not to think too hard on it. Joshua absent-mindedly twisted the ring on his left hand for a moment, the metal familiar under his touch. "We may need to get something for dinner; the fridge was nearly empty when I looked this morning." He had still fixed himself a snack for the road, not wanting to be distracted by hunger during the lecture. "Anything you wanted to do, while we're out? It's my day off at the hospital, so I've got time." His father still owned it and they often joked about that. It was strange working for the man, even though he'd grown up with him.
[Wow. Muse. There you are. ]
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Jan 29, 2012 17:32:22 GMT -5
Allergies were certainly something to worry about, and she’d be very negligent if she didn’t take them into mind when setting up her classroom. ”I have them sign waivers at the beginning of the year,” Nell said. ”If anyone has any allergies, no plants. Or I can replace them with hypoallergic plants.” It would make her sad to have such an empty classroom, and it wasn’t just the Earth elemental in her speaking. ”I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone with an allergy. Though I’d be right on top of that, of course.” She just hoped that no one would lie when they signed the waiver, considering she didn’t want to have anyone breaking out in hives or even people getting lightheaded and drowsy thanks to pollen. Not just because she didn’t want to get into trouble with the Academy. ”I’m just glad this year I don’t have to decorate the room with horrid motivational posters.” She knew that no one enjoyed them, even though some were funny simply because of how unfunny they actually were. Yes, she definitely preferred her plants to anything else, especially posters that said ‘Shoot for the stars’. She was surprised not more students tried to vandalize such classrooms.
She sighed and tilted her head. Of course her husband knew that she wouldn’t literally traumatize one of her students, that would make her quite unfit to be a professor. ”Oh, it’s just that mud and fecal matter look so similar,” she told him vaguely, grin sly. It was done very much on purpose, mostly to prove a point. And okay, it was also because she liked to mess with her students, since most of them liked to believe that they know everything about the world. It was always nice to see them thrown off or confused. Or maybe she was a little bit sadistic. No, that wasn’t it—she wouldn’t want any of her students to be in trouble or hurt. They were good kids, even if they belonged to alliances that she was not a part of. Nell didn’t like to focus on that too much now. She lifted an eyebrow at Josh, frowning with restrained laughter. ”There weren’t any casualties, were there?” I crack myself up sometimes. The concept amused her, but then again, most things did. It was hard for her not to be happy all the time.
Nell shook her head when he told her that he’d gotten himself a reputation. ”Hey, that’s a good thing.” She grinned. She didn’t think she was that strict, but when it came down to it, she also wasn’t a pushover. No excuses for late assignments, and hopefully her students respected her for the fact that she tried to make her lessons interesting even though she was tough when it came to turning in papers and the such. She wasn’t a hardass because she found that students tended to be a little more resentful and reactive when they were treated as something lower than the professor. Nell had figured out quickly that she loved this job, that she loved working with people, she enjoyed teaching them. It was something she was actually good at—she liked to talk, and that certainly helped. It also helped that her husband was around, as well, even though she had to admit he was quite the busybody. She didn’t even wish that he’d lessen his load, because she wouldn’t change a thing about him.
Nell was very much excited to see the kids, even though they were mostly the source of her stress. It was a good kind of stress, though. ”Or we can start rationing,” she joked. ”I’ll go shopping together. We can have pizza tonight.” It would be easier tomorrow, then she wouldn’t be as exhausted after a long day of work. ”Nothing that I can think of right now, no,” she admitted. Food was definitely top on her list, and they would take care of that. Driving to school to pick up the rugrats, she hadn’t expected them to be bumped up and scraped when they got in the car. ”Buckle up,” she said before turning around to look at the boys, mama bear instincts on high alert. ”What happened?” she asked in a tone of voice that only a mother could master—it was a combination of exasparation and concern. Nell certainly came a long way from being afraid to even scold her children. She had been busy trying to find the line between her and her mother that at time she had to wonder at times if she was being too harsh or not harsh enough, it often stalled her in doing what she should be doing. Trinidad shifted in the seat and crossed his arms, looking away with a frustrated look. ”I don’t wanna talk about it.” She lifted her eyebrows expectantly at Isaac.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Jan 30, 2012 11:38:44 GMT -5
A slight twitch of his lips, a nod. Joshua accepted the fact that Nell was careful about allergies without argument, never having felt the need to doubt her much in the first place. "I figured you'd have it worked out." It was reassuring to know that she took such careful precautions. Sometimes he would joke about it but in truth, Josh actually did care about other people. It had taken years for the walls to wear down, as if sandpaper had made slow work of them, but he had a sense of compassion now. Like he'd really give a damn if one of her kids ended up in the hospital where he worked. It'd been strange at first, though he'd long since adjusted to the feeling. His almost solemn demeanour—the way he always got when he thought about hospitals and patients and other unpleasant things—vanished behind laughter when she mentioned motivational posters. He remembered the rooms of his high school classes being ringed with them and trying to focus on writing papers when creepy children smiled down at him with bright, unrealistic sayings painted above their heads. "I second that," he said. "Though I think the botany professor's got you beat. It's like a jungle in there. You Earth students astound me sometimes. I've never felt the particular urge to transform my classroom into a volcano." He flashed her a good-natured grin, though he wasn't kidding about the resident botany professor. That man had his work cut out for him at the Academy. Josh assumed that in most colleges it wasn't the most sought-after major considering its low amount of usage but in a castle full of Earth students, well, there were bound to be some takers
Joshua arched an eyebrow at his wife and then smirked, suppressing what would have been another round of laughter. He didn't know exactly what had gone on in the classroom but the implications were enough to be funny. "I love you," he stated simply, shaking his head. Though his tone suggested incredulity, the words were usually true when they came from his lips. He did love her. There had been moments of doubt when he'd worried that something would happen to shatter their engagement or end their marriage in sticky divorce but it was mostly his own paranoia creeping up on him. "When they had a fully trained medic in their company? Nah." He winked at her and left it at that. Medic, now that was a funny thought. He was a fully trained doctor with all the fancy certifications to prove it, not that any of those mattered to Josh when it all came down to it. He liked the action, the problem solving. During the breaks at the Academy he took research grants to fill in the spaces of boredom, worked on-call at the hospital. He was sure his kids would prefer that he relaxed but even though he did make a point to spend more time with them, he liked to be busy. At least he made a point to arrange his shifts to suit their schedules. "I guess it is," he said, shrugging. He didn't mind what people thought of him as long as they listened to him. "I'll be fair if you give me good reason for it." Wasn't that what he'd told them?
The idea of rationing amused him and reminded him of another history lesson he'd held a few years ago, when teaching his kids (at school—he didn't want to traumatize his own just yet!) about war and its consequences. He'd divided the class into small 'families' and given them each what was standard rations for a week. "Have fun dividing that amongst the five of you," he'd told one group cheerfully as they looked doubtful, "and don't forget that the kids have first priority." It had been his way of showing them, rather than telling them, how hard it would have been for even a civilian family in the war. When supplies were scarce, when the poor suffered from starvation. A lot of history lessons seemed to focus on the names of the commanders and the places they'd captured. That was all fine with Josh, he taught that too, but it would be boring to go by the book all the time. He already knew the books, he'd read them all when he was growing up. Nell brought him back to reality when she mentioned pizza. "Sounds good, but we'd better order more than one. If Isaac's inherited anything, it's your appetite." He poked her stomach playfully. Joshua ate around the same amount as Nell, being a six foot three male with a tendency to exert himself with work and burn energy quickly, but her appetite still never ceased to astound him. And she'd passed it onto her son, who could eat as much as his parents at half the size. It might have worried him if he wasn't so used to his wife.
Though his calm demeanour wouldn't have suggested it—except maybe to Nell, who knew him best—Joshua immediately went on high alert the moment his gray eyes took in the state of the two kids. For God's sakes, what've you done to yourselves? The thought was exasperated but he merely frowned as he unlocked the back doors of the car so that they could pile in. He let Nell have the first word, thinking it would be easier if their mother could get it out of them without argument. Unfortunately, you learned things about your kids when you had to raise them. Like when things weren't going to be that easy. He glanced into the rearview mirror and caught Trinidad's expression, then Isaac's, who looked pointedly away from his mother. There was a certain defiance in how rigid his shoulders went. "Nothing happened." Joshua could understand that 'nothing' probably meant 'nothing I want to tell my parents' but he doubted Nell was ready to accept such an answer and he wasn't either. He didn't pull out of the place where he'd parked, not wanting to lose focus when he was on the road. "That sure looks like a whole lot of nothing," he 'agreed' in exasperation, now turning to face them as Nell had and gesturing to the multitude of minor injuries. "I'll take a look at those when we get home." He wasn't offering to—if his kids were hurt, he'd be the one to make sure there wasn't any danger of infection. Just as his father had with him, although he'd try to do it with less scathing remarks about how stupid they were. He knew how much those stung, and not with a physical kind of pain. He repeated his wife's question, waited expectantly, then pressed his lips together. "Would you prefer I got the story from one of your teachers?" he asked seriously. "I'm sure they'd give me a wonderful, completely unbiased account." Isaac shifted uncomfortably at the thought of anyone tattling on him but held firm, folding his arms in defiance. "We didn't start it," was all he said, as if that mattered. Josh looked at Nell, rolled his eyes, then turned his attention to Trinidad, wondering if he'd have better sense than his brother.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Feb 4, 2012 2:16:53 GMT -5
Josh was certainly right about Isaac’s appetite, but they would make sure to keep him fit and healthy. No way in hell would she let anything happen to her kids, and she supposed having a doctor for a husband was perfect for that. With her fear of illness altogether, it was nice to have a ‘medic’ around that certainly knew a lot more about medical care than she did. Of course, she wasn’t completely inept and knew her own tricks and methods from childhood. She batted his hand away after squeaking from the ticklishness. ”You do realize that most of our money goes toward food, don’t you?” Nell said jovially, even though that hardly even mattered. She still had her thrifty ways, but it wasn’t like having a family with a large appetite would really cause much damage to their bank account. Besides, she thought of it as a quite important necessity, not a frivolity. It was top priority. Even though poor Trinidad had to try and get to the food before the rest of his family, of course. Not like she would let anyone be underfed. That was a big no-no.
Nell sometimes wished she had went to school when she was younger so she could more easily connect and understand her children, and felt at a disadvantage when she really didn’t have experience to back up what she said. Which is why she was glad that Josh was there for that, because he would better understand and relate to his boys over matters like this since he did have a proper education. They balanced each other well enough that she never felt like they weren’t raising their kids as they should. When it came down to things like this, it was easy for her to work with him in the scolding and rearing of the two children. It was almost adorable how they thought they could get away with things because of their stubborness, and she had to envy them their naïve ignorance. But the situation didn’t call for her crooning about how darned cute their kids were, as her husband proved when he tried another way to get the answer out of them. Clearly, Isaac wasn’t giving in, and he offered up a weak defense. They were a family full of stubborness, really. She met Josh's gaze, and lifted her eyebrows up, frowning.
Trinidad quickly bolstered his brother, leaning forward eagerly. ”Yeah, it was Erik Orton!” he said as if that should explain it all. Nell inclined her head. ”And what, may I ask, did Erik Orton do?” Her eyes were probing and seemed to make her son uncomfortable as he acquired a grimace and leaned right back against the seat. ”We can get the story from you, or we can get the story from one of your teachers, either way we’re going to find out what happened,” she said calmly to emphasize Josh’s point. ”That’s not fair!” Trinidad argued, and it was obvious that he was holding back a whining edge to his tone. ”Erik Orton took my ball, and—“ He stopped short, and she shook her head. ”Don’t matter.” It was damn good that she had the patience of a saint, otherwise it’d be a slap upside the head for these two. Stubborn as mules. ”And what, Trinidad?” she questioned him. ”He pushed me down! I didn’t do anything!” If he didn’t do anything…she turned her gaze back to Isaac, feeling like this was an interrogation.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Feb 4, 2012 15:54:47 GMT -5
Though he would admit it to no one but himself, Joshua was secretly relieved at how he'd gotten his temper under control over the years. Despite the disobedience of the two children, he felt only exasperated irritation toward them rather than any of the raw anger he'd possessed in his earlier years. When Trinidad mentioned that someone had essentially bullied him, however, then he felt a bit of that old spark return. Calm down, he coached himself, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to lose his temper. He hated the idea of anyone hurting his kids, physically or otherwise. He'd been there, he'd suffered the teasing and the taunts, he'd had the kids gang up on him. Unfortunately for Josh, he didn't have an older brother that could stick up for him. Isaac looked defiant as Joshua frowned at him, guessing at what might have occurred. With the stares of both of his parents weighing him down, even Isaac's resolve seemed to be crumbling. He seemed almost worried, like he thought they'd get him into trouble if he admitted it. "Erik deserved it!" he insisted, thumping a closed fist against his thigh as if words weren't enough to express this. Joshua inhaled carefully, though to be honest he wasn't sure who he was more upset with—Isaac, or the little shit that had bullied his other son. Knowing that he needed to think like a parent and reprimand violence rather than encourage it, he said slowly, "What did you do, Isaac? Be honest with me." However, Isaac didn't look like he planned on saying. Deciding it was time to show just how serious he was, Joshua made to open the car door and step outside, having every intention of heading up to the office and inquiring about the confrontation.
"Wait, wait!"
He paused with his hand still on the door, glancing back at his son and doing his best to conceal any hint of triumph. Though Donovan had always been able to extract an answer out of Josh without resorting to trickery, Patricia had taught him all of the sneaky tricks that he now used to make his own children behave. It satisfied him that raising a kid could be done without the violence that both he and Nell had suffered, albeit a lot worse on Nell's end. We're not our parents. "I don't have much time, Isaac, I'm sure the teachers won't wait around all day." This seemed to be the last incentive that Isaac needed, crossing his arms and huffing in disappointment at his defeat. "I punched him" he said, not meeting the gaze of either parent but instead choosing to look out the window to where the other cars were slowly filtering out of the parking area. Josh was still determined not to leave until they got an account out of the kids, so that he had the option of going up to the school if need be. "I doubt that solved anything," said Joshua disapprovingly. "You're lucky that you weren't suspended." He worried about Isaac with his temper, remembering how he himself had been expelled in childhood for violence. He hoped that he and his wife could prevent anything of that severity. "Got detention," he muttered. "It's not fair!" he burst out suddenly, before Josh could even think of replying. "Trinidad didn't even do anything!"
Joshua was not entirely sure how to handle this situation. On one hand, he felt for both of his sons. He knew from personal experience that telling a teacher about bullying did not always end in a resolved conflict. In fact, it usually made things worse, for you were labelled a rat and they'd come after you in a group the next time. On the other, he didn't want to encourage violence. God damn it, he thought, frustrated. Suppressing a sigh, he said, "They had every right to give you detention, Isaac. What did they do to Erik?" It was at this point that Isaac seemed to come to life again, rising to the bait and turning his attention back to his parents. "He got detention, too, but that's it!" he said loudly. "He said I started it and I didn't!" While it could be argued that Isaac had likely thrown the first punch, Josh actually believed him this time. Erik had been the one to go after Trinidad, after all. "We'll discuss what to do about this when we get home," he said, giving Nell a look that meant he wanted to talk it out with her. He was usually comfortable with taking initiative and doing what he felt was right but at the moment the lines seemed much too thin for his liking. At least satisfied that they'd both told the truth, he pulled out of the parking lot and made the rest of the drive home. "We're having pizza tonight," he informed the pair, embracing Annabel when she emerged from upstairs. "How is she?" he wondered, asking after his daughter. "Asleep," Annabel replied, then went to check on something else. When he and Nell were finally alone, he hesitated only briefly before getting to the point. "I know what it's like," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Being ganged up on, I mean. I didn't want to take sides before talking to you about it." It was always hard to watch your kids go something you'd suffered yourself but it was even more difficult when you were expected to punish them for it.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Feb 8, 2012 21:20:40 GMT -5
Nell let her husband handle hoodwinking their eldest into spilling what he did. Punched someone. Lovely. She reminded herself that boys will be boys, but she was forever an Earth elemental. It wasn’t something she at all approved of. The arguments were the same ones they heard over and over, and she was sure parents before them had heard the same things over their years of raising children. It was almost amusing to think this, not so amusing to expereince it. Nell did not like the fact that her son had punched some kid, but she also didn’t like the fact that some kid was picking on Trinidad. ”I’m sure he didn’t,” she said when Isaac defended his little brother. The sentiment was sweet, the enforcement definitely was not. ”That doesn’t mean you can go punching anyone.” Nell was fine with discussing matters when they weren’t confined to the small space of the car. Over the years, her claustrophobia hadn’t gotten too much better, but she’d never really minded cars too much. She can open the doors any time she wanted, and that security helped her along.
When they got home, Nell ordered the pizza before she checked on Jeanne. She didn’t choose favorites, but she was ecstatic that her third pregnancy turned out to be a girl. A daughter. Because she would get to be the mother Mia never was, and be there for her daughter through things that Nell wished she could have had that maternal support in. Looking at her children, she always wanted to ask her father how he could have possibly left his own. It seemed unimaginable to her. Of course, their situations had been very, very different. Nell was happy, her husband was great, her sister-in-law actually liked her, unlike what Leon had to deal with in Jane. Her in laws also liked her, but that had never been a concern for him, considering Mia’s parents were dead. Her kids were healthy, thank god, if not a little beat up now thanks to today’s incident. She never once considered leaving everything she had, never ever thought that she would want to change any of it. And she was confident in the fact that she would never become like her mother, because she couldn’t see how she would. She loved her family far too much. And she felt successful, proud. She broke the cycle of violence and hatred in her family, and she supposed that it was thanks to Josh. Nell had found the right man, someone who she knew would never hurt her, someone she loved. She may have lost her first family, but this was like…rebirth. Redemption.
Nell met back up with Josh to discuss the situation with their darling little boys. She tilted her head and gave a small smile when Josh expressed his concerns, telling her that he knew what it was like to be ganged up on. ”Well, we certainly don’t want to encourage violence,” she said, folding her hands in front of her as the smile tugged at her lips. ”But we also want them to stand up for themselves.” Nell tilted her head, let her hair fall over her eyes as she thought before looking back at Josh. ”How about we take away video games and television for a week for Isaac? Not like we want to punish Trinidad for being bullied. And we’ll talk to the school about this Erik Orton.” she asked him all this, since this was a joint decision. She would never do anything regarding the kids without going to their father first. A little frown found its way to her lips when she thought of Trinidad being bullied. She wanted more than anything to keep her children safe from violence, from the kind of things she’d seen as a kid. And while she could guarentee they would never be touched by their parents, she couldn’t be there for them at school. Either way, she knew that her punishments would not be like any she’d experienced as a child. Nell would never ever lay a hand on her child, even spanking. She’d hate herself if she ever did.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Feb 8, 2012 22:33:09 GMT -5
Understanding that relationships and parenting both required a team effort, Joshua both listened to and carefully considered his wife's standpoint on the issue with Isaac. A frown tugged his lips when she mentioned the punishment. He could not help the instinct, that feeling he'd always gotten when he was punished for doing something that to him had felt alright at the time. But it wasn't, and it's not. You'll only encourage Isaac if you do nothing. The years had done well for his sense of reasoning and had soothed the temper that would once have prevented him from saying a word against his son. The frown cleared and he nodded. "I think you're right," he agreed. "I don't want him to think that protecting Trinidad is wrong, but we can't have either of them getting into fights." He knew what it was like to be getting into constant trouble with the school and with one's parents, he'd lived it. He also knew it wasn't the path he wanted his sons (or his daughter, though she was not yet at the age) to take. He felt a slight pang of guilt in knowing that he'd passed his temper onto his oldest son but he hoped that a strict hand—not an abusive one, as had happened with Donovan—would be enough to keep him in line. He caressed Nell's cheek in a hand and brushed his lips against hers. "Thanks, Nell," he said softly, earnestly. "It's difficult sometimes, knowing how it feels. I want a better life for our kids." He was not unhappy with his life but it was not a reason to withhold on trying to improve the next generation. He was sure Nell had things she was trying to improve upon, too. Hell, her entire childhood was a perfect example. He was glad his had been at least relatively normal.
"Isaac!" he called, and though his voice was raised so that it could be heard in the nearby rooms, he did not sound angry. Josh did not desire to strike terror into his kids. He knew that it would lead to resentment as Isaac got older because he still harboured a very slight bitterness toward Donovan for his mistreatment in youth. Nevertheless, Isaac looked wary as he appeared in the doorway, like he knew that it was going to get into trouble. As he should, acknowledged Josh, because it would make them bad parents if they put off the punishment. "Your mother and I have come to a decision," he said, and he allowed Nell the chance to explain it to him. Of course, this did not sit well with Isaac. No kid liked being punished, no matter how old or what their crime was. "That's no—" Josh cut him off with a simple, "It's perfectly fair, Isaac. You're lucky it wasn't anything worse." He held his son's glare for a moment before his gaze softened and he reached out to ruffle his hair a bit. "Look, I appreciate that you were trying to protect your brother. Next time, though, I want you to go to a teacher. Then they'll break it up and you won't be in any trouble." He didn't want his kids to earn a reputation as the bad kids in the neighbourhood. Josh had cultivated his own reputation with the locals carefully and he was well-liked in the Hollow. He didn't want his kids to ruin their own. "Defend him if you have to, Isaac, but don't hit back. It'll only make it worse." Isaac still looked unhappy and Josh felt a little bad, but he held his stance because he knew that what Nell'd said was right.
He bent down and hugged him, the surge of protective instinct spurring him on. This was his son, his flesh and blood. Pride and joy. Joshua had always wanted kids—it was something he'd known when he was only a kid himself. Well, alright, maybe more into his teenage years, but it was a certainty. Now, when he had them, he knew why. He was protective of Nell, of Annabel, of all his friends, but there was no one he felt more of a driving instinct to shield than his three kids. If he was capable of murder, it would be because someone hurt them. He let Isaac go back to hanging out with his brother and doing whatever it was they'd been up to before, turning his own attention back to Nell. "What'll we tell the school?" he wondered. "I know they've got a strict policy against violence—I went there as a kid, they nearly kicked me out for it. Do you think we should gun for an expulsion or let them make their own decisions?" Josh was confident that they could request severe action be taken, given the physicality of Trinidad's injuries and the fact that the school's policy was so strict. A lot of it would depend on Erik Orton and his record. It was Isaac's first offence (to Josh's knowledge) and so if he could, he was certainly going to protect his own kid from being kicked out of school. But he wasn't sure he wanted a little shit like Orton hurting his son(s) ever again. "I don't want this happening again, whatever the case." Heck, he'd go right to the Ortons' door and tell off the parents if he had to. These were his kids. You didn't fuck with that.
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Post by NELL DOE DALE on Feb 18, 2012 19:32:55 GMT -5
Nell's expression was peaceful as he spoke, seemingly unaffected by the fact that their kids had just gotten into a fight. Of course, it was just her normal expression, but if she freaked out about every little thing the kids did she would have no hair left on her head. She dealt with everything as calmly as possible, much better than how her mother ever dealt with anything. She enjoyed these differences. She leaned into the kiss, and tilted her head at Josh's words before giving him a peck on the cheek. "Oh, hubby," she sighed, smiling, "They do have a better life. You know we should win an award, right?" She guessed that's what the whole parenting thing was about. You should want better for your kids, take what your parents did that you didn't like and change it. And there was a lot of things she was sure both of them wanted to change. Of course, they'd make mistakes, being only human. But that came with it.
Her expression was placid as she watched her son come downstairs, and waited for his father to speak before starting in on his sentencing. "You have earned yourself a grounding," she said simply, like a game show host giving away a prize. "During this grounding you won't be allowed to watch TV or play video games for a week. And I you ever think about getting into a scrape, I want you to think about how much you missed the yellow talking sponge." The response was to be expected of course, and she wondered if she ever would tell her kids what her mother had done to her to prove to them how great of parents she and Josh have been. Nell knew that she most likely never would tell her kids about her past. Maybe about the matricide, however, because it would be worse hearing about that from someone else. It might so happen that it could be brought up, and the internet could lead them to many places, so it was a possibility. But there was something disturbing about informing any of them of what she'd gone through in her past, and she wondered if it was the same for Josh.
Nell crossed her ankles as she thought about what they should tell the school. "If we try to be too intense about it, we'll be those annoying parents that they don't want to deal with." She rolled her eyes at that, and then bit on her lip as she thought a little more on it. "We can talk to the principal and see if Mr. Erik has gotten into any trouble before this and see what we can do before trying to kick his little butt out of school." She shrugged, knowing that she'd like to do worse, but she had to take into consideration the fact that it wasn't just her kids and the other kid involved, but the school. Things had to be dealt with maturely, and sometimes life didn't give you everything you wanted. "Even suspension could be nice." She held a hand over her chest and batted her eyelashes. "A girl can dream, ya know." It was still also up to Josh what he wanted to do with his kids.
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Post by JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE on Feb 19, 2012 12:14:22 GMT -5
Nell's words brought a smile to his lips—always and without fail, she could make him smile when no one else could. She made him happy with ease and that was one of the reasons he loved her so much. He still loved his friends (in a different way, of course) and he still loved his family, but this was a special sort of affection. You could have plenty of family members and an even wider social circle but you (usually) only had one wife. His gray eyes sparkled with amusement and he chuckled. "I guess you're right, wifey," he teased, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "We're pretty awesome parents." He liked being a father. His protective instincts were driven to their maximum and he had a fierce affection for the kids that he hadn't expected in the least. Not only that, but he had someone to be proud of now. He could also prove his father wrong, prove that violence and harsh words were not the best punishments for misbehaviour. As long as the kids don't grow up to hate me, I've done a good job, right? Then again, he didn't hate his father. Sometimes when he saw how happy his kids were and realised how good he was at this, there was the bitterness. The resentment. The want for the sort of childhood that they had. But it was in the past, now, over and done with. He couldn't go back, he could only live vicariously through their three kids and take pride in the fact that they did have what he'd always wanted. "They couldn't have asked for a better mother," he said softly, and he gave her a meaningful smile. He knew that she'd been worried about becoming like her mother ever since she'd told him about the fear of mental illness. She's nothing like her. Thank god.
Like Nell, Josh hesitated to explain his own childhood to his kids. Whenever they found something interesting and asked his opinion on it or asked what his own upbringing had been like, he lied. Sugarcoated. Avoided the subject. They're too young for that right now. He supposed he would always feel like his kids were too young to face the horrors that he and Nell had gone through but his logical mind assured him otherwise. Perhaps when they had better, more mature heads on their shoulders he'd be able to admit that his own childhood hadn't been that great. It had its moments where it shone, though, moments with friends and with his little sister—Auntie Annabel, as they knew her. He liked sharing stories about that. As Isaac left the room (presumably to find Trinidad and complain about the punishment) and Nell gave her opinion, Joshua frowned and tugged at the end of his sleeve, a subtle sign that he was doubting something. He shook his head to clear it, willing himself to listen to what she was saying and take it into account. Not everything is about you. Even though he was used to being married and having a constant second opinion around the house, his stubborn independence still acted up at times. Nell was being perfectly sensible, of course, and he saw no real reason to argue with her. He sighed. "You're right," he said. "I just hate to think of that little brat doing any harm to our son. Perhaps if we can get him suspended, his own parents will deal with him." Much as he hated Erik Orton (who, by the way, Josh had never met) he did not wish violence from his parents upon the boy. Been there, done that, wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.
The musical sound of the doorbell chimed in his ears and Joshua turned his head instinctively toward the general area of the front door, even though there was a wall in the way and he could see nothing. "Pizza's here," he guessed, quite satisfied with their quick speeds. It could have been the fact that those with money usually left better tips when you weren't hours late in delivering their food but Josh appreciated the lack of delay nonetheless. He opened his mouth in order to call on the kids but the thundering of footsteps made it very clear that they were already informed. He couldn't suppress a grin at the enthusiasm. "We'd better hurry up, or there'll be none for us between the two of them." He smiled and pulled away from her a little reluctantly. "We can stop by the school tomorrow, I suppose." There was no use driving all the way back out tonight, especially since all three kids were in the house. Annabel would gladly watch them, he was sure, but he didn't want to be a bother to his sister. It still pained him to think that she loved their kids almost as if they were her own, probably because she would never know the feeling of being a real mother. She claimed she didn't want to adopt because she felt it wouldn't be the same, and who was he to argue? It was a painful thing for him to talk about.
[Shall we end this soon?]
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