voice; un: Julian Delphiki | Bean

[justlittle]

[ There comes to the network feed the sound of a small child's voice. He could do this over text, or under one of his many aliases, to distance himself from the emotional vulnerability of the subject matter. But hiding from his name-- his father's name-- seems like a cowardly move, given what it is he wants to talk about. ]

Today is Father's Day.

[ Bean takes a deep breath, then continues. ]

I've only ever had a short time with my father. I didn't grow up with him. Neither of us knew the other existed until I was seven. But once we learned... He took me in. He gave me the name he always wanted to give his second son. His name. We only had a year together before we had to separate again, but my father was good to me. He accepted me, even though I was a complete stranger to him.

Julian Delphiki is a smart man. A kind man. A man who loves his wife and his family. He doesn't deserve the trouble he's run into by having a son like me.

If I can do anything with this chance at life I've been given... I want to live up to the name he gave me. It's not the name I go by, but... it's still mine. Even if it was his first. [ And even if Bean is already the more famous Julian Delphiki, back on his Earth.

Okay, maybe he's letting himself be too emotionally vulnerable. Better wrap this up. ]

Are there any other imPorts thinking of their fathers today? I'd like to hear what they're all like.

Thank you.

Comments

[heliophilic]

Your dad sounds like a great man.

[Even if their time together was brief, it still made a difference.]

I have no idea who my biological father was, what our relationship was, or if he even knows I'm gone.

[Those memories were all wiped out.]

The closest thing I have to a dad now is the world's biggest bastard, the man who--[right, kid. Kid-friendly origin there Midnighter.]--altered me into who I am now, and was actually in the process of trying to kill me the last time I went home.

In fairness to Henry Bendix, I was trying to kill him too.

[justlittle]

Thank you.

[ It's quiet, and quick, because Bean would rather move on than dwell on his father who is god knows where, a universe away. ]

For what it's worth, I hope you're the one who wins.

[heliophilic]

So do I.

[Because fuck Henry Bendix and everything that monster stands for.]

Was... did you do anything with your dad? That you might... [M lets out a silent breath. He's not fully sure why he's asking this but he decides to go through with it.] You might wanna do to remember him.

anon; text;

[fireandhoney]

we think about our father every day

[justlittle]

[ Plural... Interesting. ]

Collectively?

anon;

[fireandhoney]

Yes. We are the children of Sithis.

text: yusei

[planetary_bonds]

living up to your father's legacy, is it?

i don't think your father would consider it any trouble, if he's anything like you described. he'd probably hate to hear yourself thinking about it like that.

[a hypocrite? Yusei is sure is one for saying that, when he still beats himself up every day for things beyond his control. And yet he has no problem giving that kind of advice to others.]

My father...I never really got the chance to know him. But I still have things to carry on in his stead, I think...

[justlittle]

My father would probably hate a lot of the things I have to say, if he heard them.

Is that hard? Having to carry on a legacy you don't even know?

texts, ultimately unsent.

[obediences]

No.
Yes.

Or if I am, I'd still rather not

Your father sounds like someone to look up t

voice

[am_i_a_monster]

My father was a good dad once. But he became a monster. He did very bad things. You sound too young for me to explain more than that.

[A pause.]

You also sound too young to have caused your own dad any trouble. You're a kid. You shouldn't be blaming yourself for anything.

permavoice

[justlittle]

I'm old enough to have known plenty of monsters.

[ Achilles. Bonzo. The teachers at Battle School could be considered monsters, for what they put their students through. Though Bean doesn't think he'd call Graff a monster to his face. Graff knows without him having to say it. ]

I blame myself for a lot of things. I've been a busy kid.

text

[bookkeeper]

Mine was the complete opposite. He just wasn't good.

permatext

[justlittle]

What lessons do you take from a dad like that? Just don't do anything he would do?

voice

[hellosirs]

I don't think a dad like yours would think that you were any trouble.

[ ... Wait, he's supposed to say something about his own family too, isn't he. He doesn't really want to talk about his dad per se, but... ]

... My, um. My Grandpa was really nice.

permavoice

[justlittle]

No. He probably wouldn't.

[ Julian Delphiki, Sr. always thought the best of his sons. ]

I've never had any grandparents. What's your Grandpa like?

audio;

[threeisapattern]

[yeah, so. This is 100% a thing that Stiles has been thinking about, a lot, today.] My dad's a sheriff. A really good one. He's, uh - it's just been the two of us since my mom died. I'm not, like... the easiest kid to take care of sometimes? And I've had to lie to him a lot, about important stuff, and he knows but I can't just tell him because I want him to be safe, you know? It already freaks me out sometimes that he's the sheriff and something could happen to him -

[Stiles cuts himself off, and the audio picks up the sound of a dog whining softly Derek's not cool with Stiles being sad.]

I haven't been away from him this long before.

perma-audio;

[justlittle]

These things you lie to your dad about... Do you lie because you're breaking the law, and wouldn't want the sheriff to find out? Or for a different reason?

[voice]

[topmeup]

I think...having kids means having trouble follow you. Trouble they deal with because they love their kids. My pops put up with a lot for me. I think about him all the time.

[He says it with some fondness, but its bittersweet. Putting up with him is what got his dad killed in the end, didn't it?]

He worked hard, wanted us to try our best in whatever we did. And no matter how hard and tough he tried to be...he gave in a lot on the little things. Letting us eat candy before bed. Buying us pizza on veggie night.

He didn't name me after himself, but he did name me after his mama. He wouldn't have been who he was without her and I wouldn't be who I am without him, so...yeah, I guess I've been trying to live up to that, too.

[permavoice]

[justlittle]

I don't think my father ever expected his kids to bring him this much trouble.

[ But then, that's what you get for having two Battle School grads. ]

Is it hard to live up to? Two generations worth of legacy.

voice; id reads "phoebus apollo"

[lesterzeppelin]

[ for this, Apollo makes his voice sound deeper - more like an adult, rather than the young teenager he normally sounds: ]

I'm thinking of my son today. Does that count?

[justlittle]

I suppose it does. Do you miss him?

(Video)

[prophesiedone]

(This hurts and Anakin's face is shadowed despite this being a video feed.)

A year sounds nice. I would take a year with my children.

[justlittle]

I hope I get more than just the year with my family, once I return home and stop Achilles.

[ Which, now that Bean is saying it out loud, is pronounced "Ah-sheel" not "A-kill-eeze". ]

voice;

[pullsheavendown]

I'm, uh...sorry he's not with you now.

[Roxas hesitates before continuing. He's not sure what else to say, or why he said anything at all; something about Bean's words just...touched something in him.]

I don't have a dad. I'm not sure what I'd be like if I did.

permavoice;

[justlittle]

[ Bean senses the note of sincerity in the other boy's voice, and briefly thinks back to when he shared his ice cream with Bean. Something Bean is not about to forget any time soon. ]

I didn't always have a dad. Or... I suppose I did, I just didn't know he existed. And he didn't know I existed.

My point is, I know what that's like.

I don't think having a father changes you all that much. I'm still me. I just... have more people who care if I live or die, now.