Who wants to know?

run_you_fool @ 2008-12-03T14:42:00

2008-12-03T22:43:56Z

[Greg found himself checking his email, his LJ Inbox, his alerts, his friends page, every few minutes. It wasn't as though there was anything else to do when Shen was at school. Apartments could only reach a certain level of cleanliness, his thin stomach could only hold so much food, and anyway his appetite cost Shen money. As did his newfound addiction to the internet. When he remembered that fact, he turned the computer off and scurried out of the house, but all he could think of was whether or not there would be something when he got back. Unless he went to one of the ports and gazed into the water. Then all he could think of was what it would be like to jump.

He wanted a job. There were no jobs in this town that hadn't been taken by students. He wanted to go to school. Shen said he could enroll in a community college, but he never said when.

No one on his friends list updated enough. Neither did any of the people on his journal. Didn't any of them realize that he had nothing to do with his life besides read about them hurting and joking and flirting and being so much realer and more alive than the shell spying on them?

Of course not.

He read every rambling email Jeff sent. Sometimes he wrote replies and didn't send them. More often than not, what he did send were demands that Jeff to leave him alone, and then he worried without end until the next email came. When there was a day or even an hour with nothing, no Shen no entries no emails no sleep, a gulf of loneliness opened and refused to close. But he often ached after reading the emails, because each one reminded him that there was no one coming for him. Just people claiming they would.

Greg fantasized about meeting the strangers who shared his journal. What did Yezidi look like? Exactly what had happened to Jeff's eye? Was Rita really that pretty? And Natana—he wondered what she looked like so often that he probably had a crush on her.

The thought was so amusing he thought it would make his stingingly dry eyes well up. He had never dated. He had never kissed anyone. He hadn't hugged anyone in months; Shen was so composed and Greg didn't want to hurt his arm, and no one else was there. He couldn't hug his spirit friends. And even if he could, his spirit friends were gone. He saw spirits sometimes, uninterested in him, and wondered if he really was crazy, and Shen was just humoring him because he was his girlfriend's crazy little brother. But Shen had to like him. No one in the world had that much patience.

He spent all day waiting for Shen to come home. Quite often, he brightened up and laughed and was truly, genuinely happy until the moment he was alone and the gulf opened right back up. Almost as often, Shen had to work, or Greg was only pretending to laugh. When Shen asked if he was ok, he said yes, even though he both knew they weren't. Shen never pushed him. Only Jeff pushed him, and Jeff was miles and miles away. What he needed was someone here to push him. What he needed was a real hug, not a hug on the internet.

He needed help, and the thought made him sick. Greg wasn't supposed to need help. Greg was supposed to help. Greg was supposed to save people and cheer them up, not expect hem to cheer him up.

If anyone from the journal came, they wouldn't know who he was. They wouldn't recognize the scrawny boy in his too-short jacket and too-loose pants as anything but a stranger passing by.

No one was coming to save him.

And if they did, for all his fantasies about a real conversation and a real hug, he knew he would be silent and wouldn't hug back.

At least then, when they left, he would have no false hopes. He would know they were never coming back.]

[Unposted]

2008-12-03T03:30:36Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

In October I pulled falindsovsor's hair (-5 points). In August I put money in captain_catfish's expired parking meter (14 points). Last Sunday I pulled over and changed geneticrebel's flat tire (15 points). In June I gave perber a Dutch Oven (-10 points). In July I gave grammarshark a life-saving blood transfusion (50 points).

Overall, I've been nice (64 points). For Christmas I deserve a Sony Playstation 3!

Sincerely,
run-you-fool

Nice Try, Natana, But...

2008-12-03T03:22:16Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

In May on a flight to Pakistan, I stole the emergency flight information card (-40 points). In November I had a shoot-out with rival gang lords on the 5 near LA (-76 points). In January I gave change to a homeless guy (19 points). Last Tuesday I helped flippingthecoin hide a body (-173 points). Last Monday I bought porn for delilah_girls (10 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-260 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely,
run-you-fool

run_you_fool @ 2008-12-02T19:12:00

2008-12-03T03:13:52Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

Last Sunday I bought porn for talkaboutclass (-10 points). Last Thursday I had a shoot-out with rival gang lords on the 5 near LA (-76 points). In January I ate my brussel sprouts (1 points). Last Monday I helped perber hide a body (-173 points). In May I gave hellseffingyeah a life-saving blood transfusion (50 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-208 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely,
run-you-fool

Let me guess, Isa was the life-saving blood tranfusion, Jeff was the shoot-out, and the body-hider, and the porn-buyer. And I don't know who ate their Brussels Sprouts.

So, basically, we can all blame Jeff for the lousy Christmas present.

run_you_fool @ 2008-11-28T14:36:00

2008-11-28T22:39:56Z

IM conversation between 1eye@freelanthropy.com and missingsparkls@gmail.com

1eye: ;)

missingsparkls: HOW DID YOU KNOW MY EMAIL?

1eye: I asked Helen. But that account wasn’t active anymore.

missingsparkls: That doesn’t answer my question

1eye: Hacked your account. I just wanted you to know I knew you changed it.

1eye: ;P

missingsparkls: ...
1eye: ;) ;) ;)
missingsparkls: I’m blocking you.
missingsparkls - STATUS: INVISIBLE

Email sent from 1eye@freelanthropy.com to missingsparkls@gmail.com:

Sucks how gmail only lets you block people on chat, doesn’t it?

(I changed my email, too. After Isa and I broke up.)

Unsent email written by missingsparkls@gmail.com:

I wouldn't know. I didn't block you.

[Locked]

2008-11-28T21:36:14Z

You hacked this, didn't you, you jerk?

Look, I'm fine. And even if I wasn't, like you said, you're in Texas. You think a few comments will be enough? It won't.

Please leave me alone. You don't know me anyway.

[Locked to Greg]

2008-11-28T21:31:12Z

For future references, if I lived anywhere near your state, I would find you and pester you into coming out for ice cream or something dumb and helpful like that.

As it so happens, I'm in Texas. It would be very difficult to get all the way up there without a car or a plane.

So pretty much my only way of helping you is the internet.

That said, would you please talk about whatever the fuck is going on?

Hey there

2008-11-23T05:08:42Z

So, what's been going on? Any updates? New friends? Jeff and Isa back together yet?

Writer's Block: Smoked Out

2008-11-22T22:30:12Z

Beer and cigarettes once went together like bread and butter, but now smoking in bars is banned in many cities. When you see smokers standing outside bars in the cold and rain, what is your first reaction? Walk on by, join them, or scorn them?

View 500 Answers

Ugh. I've always thought smoking was dumb--sure, everyone is entitled to kill themselves however they want, but why would you choose a way that SMELLS SO BAD? And now I shudder every time I see a cigarette. It's gotten better lately (the shuddering thing. The dumb and smelly will not change.)

run_you_fool @ 2008-11-22T00:23:00

2008-11-22T08:24:47Z

I can't sleep.

[Blocked from Isa] because Jeff is overprotective

2008-11-22T08:22:59Z

I worried that seeing Isa ~~when~~ ~~the way he~~ ~~looking so~~ trapped would give Ally nightmares. It hasn’t, but she insists on checking every inch of the house before she sleeps, as if there are monsters hiding in the pantry or behind the bookshelves. She makes Jeff look, too, and makes Toby sniff around. She also refuses to sleep unless she knows someone’s with Isa. It’s making work difficult, since her bedtime is eight. Several times, she’s slept in our bed while I worked, and piled stuffed animals around him. Protecting him, she says.

The fact that she thinks my being with him would be any protection is just a reminder that she’s too innocent for anything that’s happened.

I wouldn’t even want to go to the room, in case I woke her. So I’ve been coming to bed much earlier--I brought my work a few times, but Isa isn’t exactly fond of that. Jeff offered to stay in the room with Isa at night until I came, but Isa doesn’t want to keep him awake. Honestly, I think Jeff would sleep on the floor like a guard dog if it made Ally a little happier, or Isa a little safer.

We all agreed to try to make this have as little effect on Isa as possible; Jeff says he’s already gotten it into his head that it’s his fault she’s scared. ~~I wish he’d tell me about it, but no, I find out from Jeff or I don’t know at all.~~ But the fact that he keeps telling Ally not to let Isa know they’re searching the house is ridiculous.

He probably knows anyway.

[Locked to Greg and Helen]

2008-11-17T04:04:59Z

I don't know what's going on, but I get the feeling the happy sparkly thing is fake. You want to tell me what Helen's entry was about?

[Locked to Greg]

2008-11-17T04:03:42Z

I'm sorry. I really am. And I hadn't meant to.

Please talk to me.

run_you_fool @ 2008-10-31T17:53:00

2008-11-01T03:59:09Z

[Rita dipped her spoon in the apple cider Isa had boiled, stirring it for what felt like the eighth time. The steam brushing her lips smelled purely of cinnamon, so sweet it was strange to think the creator could not consume sugar, but when the cider touched her tongue the flavors exploded almost as much as the heat. With her culinary prowess being what it was, she recognized none of the nuances, though she knew something in it was called nutmeg because Isa had told her.

His expression was looked beautifully anxious when he gave her the mug. He had never made or tasted apple cider, but Ally had insisted that “Hello’een needs apples,” and it had been unanimously decided that Isa would make it.

Or it would have been unanimous, if Jeff hadn’t taken to mumbling and needing to use the bathroom when Isa entered the room.

She sighed, dropping the spoon and leaning back. Jeff would take Ally and her friend trick-or-treating. Rita was staying home with Isa. It would have been a delightful prospect, if it weren’t for the knowledge that she couldn’t make him happy. That had always been Jeff’s forte. Even six years ago, before Jeff and Isa were particularly close, she could always tell when Isa had seen Jeff because he would come home wonderfully relaxed and smiling.

Rita didn’t pretend to be entirely incapable of jealousy, but there had certainly never been resentment in the knowledge that Jeff and Isa adored one another. She loved seeing Isa’s eyes brighten when Jeff galloped in, and hadn’t forgotten that Jeff was the one who brought him back to her. And Ally loved her “uncle” as much as she did her parents and pets. It was a perfect family, even if Rita’s part was largely sitting on the sidelines watching and bringing in the money.

The doorbell rang.

The trouble with perfection, thought Rita as she went to answer it, was its fragility. One person’s unhappiness spread. She didn’t know what had happened with Isa and Jeff—listening to him was another of Jeff’s fortes; Isa always seemed to think Rita would be impatient with or annoyed by his troubles—but she knew it was why their home felt like a funeral.

Today, both men were making an effort to be cheery because of Ally’s excitement at trick-or-treating for the first time, but Rita’s mourning would last until they embraced.

A tiny girl in a black dress, her shining red hair covered by a thick wavy black wig and her little face painted with black makeup, bared candy fangs. “Hand over the sugar,” she attempted to hiss.

“Be nice,” lectured her mother.

Contritely, the wee vampire said, “trick-or-treat, Mrs. Ally’s Mom.”

Rita smiled at Ally’s friend. “You can have both,” she told her, then turned her head and called, “Jeff! Ally!”

All of three seconds passed before Ally came zooming through the door, shrieking and hugging her friend. “You look so scary,” she declared. A light brown pseudo-hijab draped her head, matching the loose brown dress but not her sneakers.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” her friend’s mom told Rita earnestly.

“I’m not doing anything,” she pointed out, glancing behind her. Jeff came forth, holding Ally’s bag.

“Tell me again what you’re going to do with all the candy?” he asked.

“Donating it to a homeless shelter. This is Jeff,” Rita told them.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Hand over the sugar!”

Jeff grinned, holding up his hands, bag hanging. “Don’t have any. Gives me a toothache.”

She looked horrified.

“Meet Uncle,” said Ally proudly.

“Is this your brother?” the vampire girl’s mom asked Rita.

Rita and Jeff exchanged glances.

“We aren’t related,” she replied, at the same time as he said, “there are so many things wrong with that question I can’t even—yeah, what she said.”

The woman’s eyebrows rose as she glanced from the taupe-skinned girl in the hijab to the Jeff. “I certainly wouldn’t expect that he’s related to the father.”

“His friend,” said Ally. “Best friend.”

Her vampire companion nodded sagely. Clearly, no one understood the familial bonds of friendship more than small children.

“Yes,” Rita agreed mildly, giving Jeff a pointed look, “he is.”

“So, we trick-or-treating or what?” Jeff demanded.

“Have fun,” she replied pointedly, and walked back to the kitchen. She sat at the chair she had vacated and listened to Ally call good-bye. Had she said good-bye to Isa already? He might be napping. Six was a strange time to nap, but given how late he was likely to be awake...

Her eyes closed as she visualized the taut stillness of his torso as he slept. The same torso that trembled when they were awake and bed, heating as her hand trailed—

By the time she took her second sip of cider, she was surprised it didn’t turn her throat to ice.]

run_you_fool @ 2008-10-26T19:55:00

2008-10-27T02:56:27Z

[The dial tone rang four times before a voice answered, “yes?”

It was a male voice, but Jeff knew, without ever having heard him speak, that it wasn’t Brian. It was younger than he imagined Brian, and there was no softness to it. No caring. But he asked, nevertheless, “Brian?”

The boy on the other end drew in breath sharply. “Who is this?” he snapped.

Definitely not Brian. “Is your name Taylor, by any chance?”

“Yes. Now who the Hell is this?”

Jeff briefly considered what answer would make the boy on the other line angriest, but exhaustion and sadness had worn down his imagination. “I want to sleep with Brian’s girlfriend,” he said flatly. “Is she out of the hospital yet?”

There was a loud curse, followed by the sound of something hitting something. He listened for a few more seconds before realizing Taylor had thrown the phone. “Could have at least hung up,” he muttered.

Though he hadn’t gotten to speak to Natana, he felt slightly better.]

In Which My Attempts at Meaningful Repetition Dissolve Into Overuse of Words

2008-10-26T06:03:16Z

[It was worth questioning who felt warmer: Isa when he thought about Jeff reading his daughter a bedtime story (or rather, acting it out, with loud and imaginative voices that never stayed consistent for each character) or Jeff when he left Ally’s room and entered the living room to find Isa reclining on the couch, reading a book and absentmindedly stroking Ishmael with one hand. His expression was comfortable and completely unafraid, without the pain of remembrance that Jeff had expected to see after they walked through the labyrinth.

“I’m surprised you made it home on time,” he remarked.

“You have no faith in me.”

“Liar.”

Just a simple word, but it brought a grin to Jeff’s face that he didn’t foresee losing in the near future.

A minute or two passed, and Isa’s head lifted from the book. “You aren’t saying anything.”

“Just watching you read.” He realized how it sounded after he said it, but the grin was still firmly plastered on.

“That can’t be the most interesting sight,” Isa remarked, flipping a page.

“It’s pretty interesting.” Actually, it was just pretty.

Isa gave him an odd look, then asked, “you were with Judith, right?”

“Yep. I give you too much credit for being a freak, by the way. She insists being stabbed to death is ‘just a little thing.’” He couldn’t help but be faintly satisfied when Isa shuddered. But it was brief.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“Jealous?” he teased.

“Of course not.”

He pouted.

Isa raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather I was?” he asked, either incredulous or uncertain whether or not Jeff was joking.

“At least it would be some form of caring about me,” he grumbled. When Isa stared at him in open shock, he added quickly, “I didn’t mean that.”

“I realize,” Isa acknowledged with a trace of bitterness, “that I haven’t been the best judge of what you do and do not mean, but that didn’t sound like a joke to me.”

Jeff’s hand itched with the urge to scratch his head and look away. Isa’s eyes were fixed on him, dark and tender and something else he didn’t recognize. He didn’t look people in the eyes very often—perhaps it was rude in his culture. “You know I care about you,” Isa said softly. “Right?”

Of course he recognized the something else. Isa looked vulnerable. Jeff’s mind flashed to the first time he had seen Isa look that way. If it hadn’t, he might not have realized he was about to say something he would regret.

“Not as much as I care about you.”

If Isa had argued, Jeff might have been able to defend himself from the guilt that had already risen. Instead Isa kept staring at him, this time with a very different look, the unreadable look that came when he was hiding his pain.

He set the book down.

Looked at his lap.

And sighed.

“Is that what you think?” He didn’t sound hurt. He didn’t sound demanding. Yet it was a demand, and the hurt was there.

Jeff found himself staring at Ishmael. The cat curled up, batting occasionally at the air. Voice shaking, Jeff whispered, “you’ve never…I have no…why should…”

“I know I’ve never sacrificed anything for you, the way you have for me,” said Isa with that terrible quiet that was impossible to attack. “And I know I’m not as affectionate as you are.”

“You’re plenty affectionate,” he spat. “Just not with me.”

He hated the sound of his voice. And he hated the sound of Isa’s when he said, still gazing at his own lap, “that isn’t fair.”

“How isn’t it?” His voice sounded strained. “Ok, obviously Ally’s going to be more important than anyone else, but I’ve heard you say a thousand things above those Brothers of yours, and I’ve seen you with Rita, and…and…you even touch that cat more than you do me.”

“I seem to recall having more physical contact with you than anyone I’ve ever met,” came the dry response.

“All of which you were on the receiving end of.”

“Well,” he sounded terse, “what I don’t seem to recall is an opportunity not to be on the receiving end.”

“Oh, great, so now it’s because I like you too much.”

“Given that you’re comparing my level of affection to yours—”

“Not affection! Caring!” Maybe because he was kicking himself even as he spoke, he thought he saw Isa’s jaw tense.

“I care about you,” he bit out, or maybe it was just Jeff’s imagination, and his tone was civil as ever, “just as much as I do my brothers. And I certainly don’t love Rita more than I do you, or choosing one of you wouldn’t be so difficult.”

“How have you not chosen her yet?” he demanded.

“I just told you. I love you both.”

“Then choose both of us!”

The sadness in Isa’s glance bordered on sympathy. “I can’t.”

Jeff almost screamed. “This isn’t fucking fair. I would wait around for, for years, never even touching another person, even if I liked them and you know that, and it isn’t fucking fair.”

“I’m not asking you to wait for me.”

“I DON’T HAVE A CHOICE. The only person here with a choice is you.”

More eye contact. When did it become terrifying to be looked at in the eye? Isa took Ishmael and laid him gently on the table, where he immediately uncoiled himself and slunk off. The book fell to the ground as Isa stood. He picked it up, and walked over to Jeff, who found himself flinching when he stopped with barely an inch between them. “If you’re going to throw that at me, you may want to be an arm’s length away,” he muttered.

He didn’t seem to hear. “Don’t talk to me,” he said hoarsely, “about fairness. And don’t talk to me about choices. I didn’t choose any of this. Nothing that’s happened in your life has been my choice. Certainly nothing in mine.”

Jeff could just imagine all the examples waiting. He was glad when Isa didn’t state them, or he would have cried.

“If I don’t care about you,” said Isa softly, “I’ve never cared about anything in my life. And I wish it were true, Jeff. I’m not like you. I care too much.”

Fuck it. A tear snaked down. “I don’t want to talk about this,” he growled.

“Then why did you.” It wasn’t a question.

Was it?

“Choose Rita,” he forced out. “I can’t do this.”

Had that been hurt that crossed his face? Stop looking at me, Jeff thought. Just make the damn choice.

“Sometimes I wonder,” Isa murmured, “if you’ve ever wanted to be with me.”

Jeff gawked. “I…If that’s your way of getting back at me, try harder.”

“Get back at you for what?” he asked softly. “Not needing me as much as I need you?”

“You don’t need me!”

His soft, sharp laugh brushed Jeff’s lips like a kiss. “Liar,” he breathed. Were those his fingers running through Jeff’s hair? Great. This was a dream. “You’ve seen me with Rita, as you said,” the words were so throaty they sounded like a growl, but much gentler. “But you’ve also seen me without her.” Fingers. Definitely. His hair winding around them. Waking up would be very comforting. “You’ve never seen me without you.”

Jeff tried to say something, even something stupid, even something hurtful, but just a twitch of his lips and they would be kissing. Isa’s fingers trailed down, over his face, ruthlessly deliberate. “If I told you,” he whispered, “I didn’t want to be with Rita, I wanted you, would I still not care enough?” They cupped his face now, the softness of the skin turning Jeff’s throat rough as sandpaper. “If I chose you, what would you say?”

Dryness choked him. He was drowning. No, he needed water. Wake up, damn it. The prayed-for liquid touched his lips, salty and quenching nothing. “Choose Rita,” he rasped.

Isa’s fingers fell. The skin they had caressed burned. “All right,” he murmured.

Jeff didn’t watch him leave the room, but looking at the couch wasn’t much better. It used to be where they slept. Together.

Ishmael trotted back, leaping onto the couch and forming a comfortable ball. The cat’s golden eyes scorned him.]

There are exactly three things in the world I find cute

2008-10-13T04:16:52Z

And two of them involve Jeff.

It's all his fault, too. Honestly, he's like a puppy when he's around Isa. The way he used to treat Isa was the reason I hated him in the first place, but now he's...I honestly can't even picture him not hanging on Isa's arm without big sad puppy eyes being involved.

And then there's how he is with Ally. You know, Isa took care of a boy named Nathanial and Jeff barely spoke to him, but he can spend hours playing with her. He doesn't even seem to get tired.

I never have time to play with her. She can entertain herself--she has Toby and now Ishmael and a mountain of stuffed animal and one doll, a baby that she named Little Monster, and she jumps rope and plays hopscotch and she has a lot of little friends she can play with--but she wants to play with the family, and...I won't let myself be too busy to swing with her, and I'll always do my work at the park instead of the house if she wants to go, but that's not the same as taking two hours to play hide-and-seek and hot-and-cold and all the other games she likes. And recently she's started wanting to play stuffed animals with other people, though she's very nervous about letting people touch Little Monster.

I still remember the first time I came home to find Isa boiling pasta and Ally showing Jeff some of Toby's tricks. She didn't even know who they were. I've told her that if strangers break into the house, she should turn invisible, sneak out, and have one of our neighbors call the police. She can recite those instructions like the ABC's, but following them is a whole different story. It used to scare the shit out of me, but now I know she's safe all the time.

There are people who can raise children all by themselves, even on minimum wage--they just work minimum wage jobs. I knew a painter whose wife left him, and he was a great dad. If there's one thing Jeff and Isa have taught me, it's that I should not be raising children on my own. I don't know how I've managed this long. Even food--I want her to have healthy, natural food, but I can't cook a thing.

It's actually ridiculous how helpful they are. Ally's always been messy with her clothes, but Isa's shown her how to fold. Now she's so proud of knowing how to do it. She wants to fold everyone's clothes. And then Isa refolds them when she isn't looking, except Jeff's. He doesn't care how wrinkled his clothes are.

We were playing Monopoly last night and Ally stood up and said, "we have the best family ever."

She may have the best dad ever, but when you throw in me and Jeff, there are so many reasons that shouldn't be true I could write a novel on it.

But I guess it is true, isn't it?

...I can't believe I'm part of a family that includes Jeff.

run_you_fool @ 2008-10-11T21:11:00

2008-10-12T04:12:25Z

What's coming out?

[Unposted]

2008-10-10T00:28:14Z

~~I know I haven't posted in a while. I've been...busy. I'll be going away for a while soon--I don't know when, but it should be soon--but maybe from there I'll be able to post way more. Or not.~~

~~Why is this so hard?~~

~~Forget it, I can't post this.~~

run_you_fool @ 2008-10-05T14:54:00

2008-10-05T22:14:42Z

There were some kids at the park today who played catch with me. It was fun. I love playing catch. We didn't get to do it on the trip because Uncle can't catch and keeps throwing it in the wrong place (I think it's cause he only has one good eye), and Apa doesn't throw hard enough. I can throw things for Toby to get but he doesn't really catch, he just smells for it after it falls. Plus he can't throw at me cause he doesn't have hands.

I'm happy I'm back because I missed Mommy and Ishmael, but the trip was fun. It would've been funner if Apa and Uncle were still kissing, I think. It was really nice seeing Natana. She looked hurt, though, and she wouldn let Apa use his powers. It's good cause that would hurt Apa, but what if Natana's doesn go away?

Writer's Block: Church & State

2008-10-05T20:10:53Z

Should church and state always be separate? Why or why not? What should the nature of their relationship be?

View 500 Answers

YES. It is completely fucking unfair to transfer your own religious beliefs onto everyone else, and creating laws with a religious basis essentially does that. If there is a single country in the world where everyone has the exact same religion, they're either forcing everyone to believe in it or driving out everybody who won't, because there is just no way everyone is going to agree.

The only laws that should have any sort of religious aspect are laws forbidding religious discrimination, defacing of holy sites, and forcing people to do things their religion dictates against (assuming that in itself isn't discrimination; for example, if someone refuses to insemenate gay couples, he should try a different career.)

run_you_fool @ 2008-09-30T17:15:00

2008-10-01T00:55:51Z

["'Visiting times are for one hour,'" said Jeff in a high-pitched voice, kicking the fuzzy navy carpet of the waiting room as they walked out. "'You'll have to come later.'"

Ally frowned. "But I wanna see Natna."

"You will." He grinned. "Turn us invisible."

Isa sighed.

Two minutes later, the door to a small private room in the emergency ward swung open. The patient on the bed rose onto one elbow. Shorn black hair rumpled around a strong face with a decidedly Caucasian nose and furrowed brows that furrowed further when two men appeared.

Then she—or at least, it looked like a she—smiled. Maybe she noticed that one of the men had a wasteland in one eye socket. Maybe she couldn't imagine anyone else who would sneak into a hospital invisible. Maybe she figured it out some other way. It was hard to think in the face of that smile. Jeff wanted to bend sideways just to be on level with it.

"Do I look like what you expected?" Her voice seemed to sing in her throat.

"I didn't have any expectations," Jeff replied immediately, rather disappointed that her accent was no different from the majority of Americans.

"Hah." She sat up further. Her hospital gown was so thin he could see the muscles of her stomach. She had a long torso—and a long neck, long legs, long eyelashes. One of her eye seemed to have longer eyelashes because of the dark blue bruise just above the lid. "I probably look like shit anyway. I don't care much."

That was clear. He could see her careless confidence, and he imagined that when standing and healthy her very presence would sparkle and roar; she would carry herself with such strength no one would notice her ribs were broader than her breasts. Her arm wouldn't shake slightly, the way it did now, unable to carry the weight of a full body.

She tilted her head teasingly at her stare. "What's the matter, wondering how you could ever discuss sex with someone like me?" she crooned. Her gaze turned to Isa, who was holding a cloth bag and looking at her in concern. "You, by the way, are hot."

"Um."

"You should know there's an invisible preschooler on your bed," Jeff offered.

When Natana turned, he glimpsed a dark scar curving behind her ear. A little girl with hair almost as black as Natana's appeared, smiling expectantly. "Hi. I'm Ally."

"I know who you are, you little cookie." Natana tickled her stomach, making her giggle. "Don't you live in Texas?"

"We're on a trip!"

"It's only two days, or Rita'll break all my fingers," Jeff informed Natana, taking the bag from Isa.

"Is that food for me? Tell me it's food for me."

"Yep. You like freakishly spicy stuff, right?"

"Hand it over."

"Why don't you make me?" he taunted, holding the bag out in front of him.

Natana rolled her eyes. "I can't exactly stand in the moment, if it's all the same to you," she informed him with exaggerated patience. "I can, however, remove your other eye."

"Like I haven't heard that one before." He dropped the bag on the table, and Natana reached in eagerly.

"The food here stinks," she informed them. "Brian and Taylor brought chocolate, but that's not exactly spicy."

"I think they make chocolates with chili in them."

She shrugged, digging through the food. "They didn't bring that kind."

"Where are you injured?" Isa asked abruptly, a note short of a blurt.

"I'm not telling you that in front of a six year old," she replied absently. "Ooh, this smells good."

"I'm five and seven months," corrected Ally.

"You're old."

Isa smiled faintly as Natana teased Ally, but persisted, "let me heal you."

"Hell no. Jeff's told me some stuff about your powers, and I don't want to imagine what would happen if you touch me."

Ally leaned forward, eyes large. "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, but I'll get better. They'll probably come give me another check-up soon, by the way. They come every few hours."

"Even when you sleep?" asked Isa.

"Never been in a hospital, huh?"

"Sleeping in the emergency ward is pretty much...who am I kidding. It's impossible," Jeff explained. "Even if you were blind and deaf and did fall asleep, you'd be woken up in a few minutes."

Isa was alarmed. "Then how does anyone recover from illness?"

"Definitely never been in a hospital before," Natana muttered.

They chatted for several minutes, mostly her and Jeff, though jokes and cuddles kept Ally from feeling left out. Isa made only the occasional wry comment, mostly watching with detached fondness. After a while, he tilted his head, glancing towards the door.

"I hear footsteps."

"Probably my check-up." Natana, who had remained propped on her elbow for the conversation, lay back down. "Can you put the bag with those two chocolate boxes?"

"I'll do it," offered Ally, taking the bag and hopping off the bed.

"There's dark chocolate in the small one, if you want some," mentioned Natana, then fixed her gaze on Jeff and Isa. "Can I ask a question? And I will either way, so you don't have to answer."

"You're good at giving people offers they can't refuse, aren't you?" Jeff teased.

She didn't smile. "Are you two getting back together? Ever? I realize you both have women who like you, but honestly? I wasn't even aware it was possible for two people to be so in love. Much less people who had been together for over four months."

"Usually when the magic fades, huh?"

"Answer first, joke later."

Jeff fell silent.

"I don't know," Isa replied miserably. "I don't know."

"We have to go before someone comes in," announced Jeff. "Turn us invisible, Ally."

"That must be nice," she said dryly as Ally scurried across the floor to take her "Uncle's" hand. "Being able to turn invisible."

Isa gave her an unspeakably sorry look before his dark face vanished. Natana stared morosely at the wall. The nurse, a rather short man with hints of gray in his mustache, bustled in, setting up. Behind him, the door swung, once, twice--

"And by the way," a voice remarked, "I would definitely sleep with you."

The nurse raised an eyebrow at Natana, who grinned as the door swung one more time.]

Oh My God

2008-09-28T05:11:06Z

Oh my God oh my God oh my God.

Please let Natana be ok.

Greg said I could change his mouse into a kitty. I like it.

2008-09-23T01:24:01Z

Ishmael sleeps a lot. He gets on high places so Toby won't try to bite him. Uncle says Ishmael and Toby are gonna be best friends. I hope it's soon.

Apa is thinking about things. I don know what things, but he's being quiet. He isn't kissing Mommy or Uncle. I don't think he's happy. :(

Uncle and Mommy say it isn't because of the men hurting him, but I bet that made him sad. I don know why people want to hurt Apa. Uncle says it's not gonna happen again, but sometimes Uncle says things to make me happy and maybe they aren't true.

run_you_fool @ 2008-09-19T22:43:00

2008-09-20T05:44:26Z

Rita and Jeff being so kind is putting me in one of the most difficult positions I've ever been in.