Random drabbles!

[RandallBoggs]

*laughs* So in essence giving YOU guys a Pep Rally? ^0^
I think South Park did it best when they had those "Bud Out" speakers being all "hip" and telling them not to smoke and that you could be "just like them" by not doing it.

The end of that bid was Stan, Cartman, Kyle, and Kenny smoking cigarettes behind the school.

[RandallBoggs]

Ok this topic got me ^0^ This snipit was actually brought about from several sketches I did...I was looking for them now actually but unfortunately couldn't find them.
But anyway....this snipit (albiet long...I can be descriptive folks ^0^), is of a scene that those sketches would come from and is one of many things Sullivan might have to face in his future because of the uncertainty paired with his actions. Needless to say I'm not an expert on some of the organizations show here...and I will not ask Ran for clarification...but the purpose of this bit is what happens in it.
Well...enjoy ^_^ Sorta ^_^

Undeserved Reprieve

Sulley tried typing on his computer, to get the new budget information on paper, something he could actually read without it burning the retinas in his eyes. But of course the computer wasn't really meant for five large digits, instead it was meant for seven rather pointed ones. Though he should really blame his secretary for not letting him use her computer. Sulley took the moment to calculate, using the computer's calculator of course, how much a new computer would work in the company budget. He grimaced at the red lettering.

He stopped, leaning back in his gigantic chair, placing a large hand to his nose, as if doing so would relieve pressure on his mind. It never worked. Sighing, he looked around the, once again, gigantic office. Mr. Waternoose sure loved big spaces. Not to mention an expensive long carpet, and portraits of himself and other Waternooses. Needless to say the first time Sulley walked in, he thought there were actual CEOs from the past in the room. The first week, Sulley felt eyes all around him, judging, planning and scheming, perhaps so of his downfall. But now...

Now Sulley just didn't care what the portraits whispered. Let them do what they want.

*thump thump*

Sulley jumped, nearly falling out of his chair, clucthing his chest. No...that wasn't his heart. It was a knock at the door. The two very large doors that even towered over him. Feeling somewhat exhausted enough that he didn't want to transverse the hall, not a room, Sulley pressed the intercom on his desk.

"Y...Yes?" he coughed. Whomever was on the other end seemed surprised, as it took a few seconds for a reply to come.

"Mr. Sullivan...a Ms. Skinner is here for you?"

Sulley thought for a moment. CEO jargan....

"Does she have an appointment?" he asked. But it was lacking. Nearly everyone who came to the door he saw an audience with.

"No...she's here to discuss a personal matter with you"

Sulley blinked. Personal? He didn't know a Ms. Skinner at all. Still...

"...Alright Carrie...send her in would you?"

*

Sulley waited exactly two minutes and thirty two seconds. Apparently it seemed that is the exact time to get past Carrie, enter the elevator, ride it to the office floor, get past the secondary office for outside meetings, and down the hall to the doors of the main office. Didn't matter how fast they were...or if they had more than one set of legs...always took the same time. So Sulley prepared himself as such in that exact time. But when the thirty two seconds came up....so did thirty three, and nobody came it. Sulley waited half a minute more before Ms. Skinner came in. She seemed to have her attention focused behind her, and speaking to someone, before coming in and transversing, rather confidently, down the red carpet.

Sulley got a picture of Sherry Flint in his head when Ms. Skinner was in descriptive view. Albiet she was more of the Tentacle type, an orange monster with two arms and four legs. In fact she looked like a cross between Sherry and Waxford. But Sulley couldn't look her over more, apparently she came to discuss business. He held out a large hand to shake hers...

"Mr. Sullivan...I'm Ms. Jessica Skinner from Monstropolis's Social Services division". Sulley took the hand, as that was all his brain could muster. Social...Services? He never had an encounter with them before, and certainloy did not expect it as CEO.

"Social...Services?". He tried to compute what could possibly warrant such a visit.

"Did...something happen to one of the parents in the factory?" he asked worridly. He was so busy he couldn't know what was going on everywhere. Did some canister blow? Did someone get crushed in the compactor?? Their factory of course had a daycare center, and Sulley himself did visit Ms. Nesbit sometimes out of the year, but what reason that was for he couldn't recall.

"Nothing like that Mr. Sullivan" Ms. Skinner said with authority, taking her hand away. "This matter does not concern someone currently employed at Monsters Inc.".

Sulley breathed, but remembered this was Social Services. "So...what is it?" he said, nervous again, but slightly less panicky.

Ms. Skinner sighed, as if she had said this before. "Mr. Sullivan...over the past year...I've been moving a particular individual through seven foster homes...none of which came to a..."happy ending"...". It was meant to be a joke. But nobody was laughing. "Evidently he has mentioned you...Mr. Sullivan...before...though we never considered you a candidate"

Sulley was taking allot in here. "Particular" individual? Who? He? And they knew who he was too? Who in Social Services, or at least under them, knew him? And a candidate?

"A candidate? For what?"

"Adopotion Mr. Sullivan"

This time Sulley fell out of his chair. Even Ms. Skinner leaned a bit to ask if he needed help, but Sulley got to his feet in time. "A...Adoption!? Ms. Skinner I'm...I'm..."

Ms. Skinner sighed again. "Of course it is not a commitment Mr. Sullivan...merely an option on your part..." she started. "Our research shows you currently unmarried without children...though that your attentive nature in your current position is of interest for a foster child"

Sulley blinked again. "Ms. Skinner...I...I can't...". This meeting was turning into something out of the Midnight Zone.

Ms Skinner held up a hand, tentacle. "Mr. Sullivan before you make any decision...perhaps you'd want to know about him a little more"

"What...what could possibly..."

Ms. Skinner sighed again, it was like her staple. She straightened, grabbing a folder that Sullivan just saw under her arm, and handed it to him. It took a full ten seconds for Sulley to pick it up. He opened it while stareing at her. Social Services HERE? Interested in HIM adopting someone? Needless to say it was an abrupt offer. But there was no way. This CEO job was taking all his time. He barely had enough time to visit Boo...and even less when it came to Mike and Celia. Sure, he didn't have time to date...and....even was jealous at Mike and Celia being together...but mostly because he doubted he would ever....

When Sulley looked at the file, every thought came to a halt. He didn't have to read anything else but the name to shock every edge of his body.

BOGGS, ALEXANDER

Mouth dry, eyes slightly burning...Sulley turned his head to look at Ms. Skinner. But...his eyes were stuck on the name, imprinting it into his mind. Suddenly everything a year ago came back...but this time the singlized thought of that name brought out questions, motives, ultimatums, and simplisitic and drastic changes...everything was different now.

"Y...You...". Sulley's eyes managed to drift off, but the name floated in mid-air, and soon were somehow reflected in Ms. Skinner's eyes. "You...said he's here?"

"Yes...Alexander....Alex...is sitting outside...we at Social Services feel that any candiates should meet the child before making any decisions..."

Sulley's eyes went to the file. How old? How OLD is he?! His eyes darted around, looking for an age.

AGE: 8

Eight? Only eight? No wait...year ago...that would have made him seven. He was only seven when it happened....

"Mr....Sullivan?"

Sulley blinked, mostly to give his eyes a brief reprieve from the description of a person he knew nothing about.

"He..." Sulley stuttered.

Ms. Skinner seemed to be curious. "If you...see in the file Mr. Sullivan...a nanny was asked to take care of him for a time...but when his father never turned up...she called us...since his father has been missing for a year...Alexander..."

Sulley forced himself not to listen. He knew. He knew all too well...

*

It took seconds, but it felt like ages when Sulley opened the door, and peered into the secondary office. There were cushioned couches and chairs there, to make important guests comfortable through the meeting. But instead of big business men and important clients filling each seat, only one was filled. An eight year old. And though in terms of Monsters, sometimes it was hard to tell the age of someone...Sulley could tell. Barely half his own size, clad in a Little Scarers. Purple...fur? Yeah...it looked like fur. White chest...white paw tips and feet. Pointy ears. Sulley couldn't look any more...or else he'd see his eyes.

Sulley studdered. A full year of not knowing. No. Nobody knew. Wasn't his fault nobody knew was it? No no. He should have known. He should have known everything. He should have known everything if he chose to do something....to do what he had done. How can he do this? How could he? To walk into a room and to cover himself, despite thinking it was to save the other misery, by lying...to a child. How could he live with himself? Looking someone straight in the eye, and knowing that you are the one who took someone from them. That you were the single cause that altered their life up till now.

A part of Sulley wanted to just get on his knees and beg some form of forgiveness. No. Just to tell the truth. To get it all out. But would that be selfish? Would it merely be for his own benefit? But even not...how would that feel to the other side? Is it worth the truth for tears an pain? But the truth is what matters right?

Right now Sulley felt that confusion. And it was tearing him apart. He had to even ask Ms. Skinner to wait in his office so him and Alexander could speak alone. He had taken the seat across, as far as he could, from him. Alex looked at him, but seemed shy enough not to come over. And Sulley was fine with that. He just couldn't do it.

It was over. The walls came down. He had thought there weren't too many repurcussions. He had done a bad thing and gotten away with it. He knew, perhaps, it would come around to bite him in the tail later but...not like this.
Not...like this....
Sulley took so long, Alex had actually come half-way over, wondering if he was ok, and Sulley thought he asked why he was crying. The kid was concerned. Concerned with him. Sulley knew he didn't deserve it.
He didn't deserve a reprieve form his guilt. Not from him. Not from Randall's son...

[mentalguru]

Pretty good too RB!

Honestly only nitpick I have on PBLs really is that I see Sulley saying 'dad' rather than 'daddy' really, also that I think the son is a bit old for Randall's age in yours...

Mmmm.

Still overall- there are just TOO many ways for Sulley to have that spark of guilt really or to express it, or the spark of realisation anyway- he's got the personality for it in the end, and just like someone or something just has to HAPPEN to perhaps get that fire really going. A spark. That's all it takes I think with Sulley in the end.

Sure he might try and bury it at first, try and ignore it, but in the end...

Heh.

A part of me wants to continue, but I think i'll concentrate on trying to get a chapter sometime in the next few weeks. But I might still do this again pretty soon actually. A part of me wants to do a young!Waternoose again.

Also have an idea for sort of three drabbles all connected. In which Sulley learns the REAL 3 'R's' of life. Told by THREE different perspectives that is, and Sulley only truely understands by the end of his educational crash course. The first one would be in Sulley's perspective, the second Randall's, and the third Mike's. I want to practice regarding Mike in general, but I can get around any apprehension by saying I like how I've made Sulley's mother in it, so it's not him alone (thank goodness for THAT! Like I said, writing a scene where he's alone just bites and makes me want to die inside unless it's to gain some prespective on another character at the very least). She's got enough patience to fill the grand canyon most of the time, but... she's impatient with Mike because she thinks something is UP with her son, so doesn't appreciate Mike seemingly trying to stall her or blab his way out. And he's about to discover Sulley is going to do something which in HIS mind is insane. Traitorous even. A part of him is worried but he mostly will feel betrayed on some level... because while not evil, he IS kind of selfish. It's kind of left open to interpret whether it could be part of 'Connections' or not.

[pitbulllady]

Jan 4, 2010 14:37:56 GMT -5 mentalguru said:

Pretty good too RB!

Honestly only nitpick I have on PBLs really is that I see Sulley saying 'dad' rather than 'daddy' really, also that I think the son is a bit old for Randall's age in yours...

Mmmm.

Still overall- there are just TOO many ways for Sulley to have that spark of guilt really or to express it, or the spark of realisation anyway- he's got the personality for it in the end, and just like someone or something just has to HAPPEN to perhaps get that fire really going. A spark. That's all it takes I think with Sulley in the end.

Sure he might try and bury it at first, try and ignore it, but in the end...

Heh.

A part of me wants to continue, but I think i'll concentrate on trying to get a chapter sometime in the next few weeks. But I might still do this again pretty soon actually. A part of me wants to do a young!Waternoose again.

Also have an idea for sort of three drabbles all connected. In which Sulley learns the REAL 3 'R's' of life. Told by THREE different perspectives that is, and Sulley only truely understands by the end of his educational crash course. The first one would be in Sulley's perspective, the second Randall's, and the third Mike's. I want to practice regarding Mike in general, but I can get around any apprehension by saying I like how I've made Sulley's mother in it, so it's not him alone (thank goodness for THAT! Like I said, writing a scene where he's alone just bites and makes me want to die inside unless it's to gain some prespective on another character at the very least). She's got enough patience to fill the grand canyon most of the time, but... she's impatient with Mike because she thinks something is UP with her son, so doesn't appreciate Mike seemingly trying to stall her or blab his way out. And he's about to discover Sulley is going to do something which in HIS mind is insane. Traitorous even. A part of him is worried but he mostly will feel betrayed on some level... because while not evil, he IS kind of selfish. It's kind of left open to interpret whether it could be part of 'Connections' or not.

Well, Sulley DOES have this rather rural Midwestern-almost-Southern dialect going on, and his voice actor, John Goodman, is a native of Missouri, but has lived in Louisiana for most of his life. Southerners, Midwesterners, and rural American folks in general tend to say, "Mama" and "Daddy" rather than "Mom" and "Dad". I was actually in my teens before I ever heard a kid-a REAL kid-who was not an actor in a tv show or movie refer to their parent as "Mom" or "Dad", instead of "Mama" or "Daddy", when addressing their parents directly. That's why I chose that for Sulley, who definitely gives off that "good ole' boy" vibe. I guess it's just one of those things you wouldn't know unless you live here, but I can certainly see him, and ironically, Randall as well, as having come from rural roots. Sulley has managed to hang onto that a bit better, while Randall it seems is making a concious effort to make people think he's a "city slicker" and a "playa", when he's not. Sulley probably is proud of where he came from, while Randall most likely thinks of his background as a liability; I know I did when I first started working, but now, after seeing more and experiencing more and having that chance to mature emotionally, I'm very comfortable with where I'm from. Then again, I'm closer to Sulley's age than to Randall's. That laid-back, easy-going "good ole' boy" attitude is what has won Sulley so many friends, moreso than his Scaring talent.

I'll agree on the age of Randall's kid in RB's fic, though. In order for this kid to have been 7 at the time Randall was "banished", when Randall was just 25, Randall would have had to be just a teen, a kid himself, when the child was born. Assuming that monsters have an average gestation period of nine months, like their not-so-distant human ancestors, Randall would have only been 17 when the kid was conceived. While that certainly isn't out-of-the-question(after all, I've had 13-year-old boys in my classes who were fathers, biologically anyway), it doesn't seem likely that Randall had been married, hence the kid probably wouldn't have had his last name. I like the thought of him having a really young child, perhaps Boo's age, at the time of his "banishment", and that perhaps contributing to his "going over the edge", mentally and emotionally, when he saw Boo dressed in that purple, scaly costume. It's possible, even probable, though, that if he had a young child, he and the "baby mama" weren't married and he did not have legal custody of said child, and that issues with child support could have contributed to Randall's deteriorating emotional state or his decision to become involved with the Scream Extractor in the first place. The "baby mama" could have been holding something like visitation rights over his head, or the prospect of jail time if he failed to pay up what SHE saw fitting. It would certainly have been strange for Randall to have had custody of a child of any age, and no one knew about it at work, since if you think about it, what is the ONE thing people are likely to show off at work(along with pets)? Their kids, of course. If someone has kids, it's very likely that SOMEWHERE at work, they've got a photo or two of those offspring displayed. Randall's tax returns, which would have been set up through his employer, would have plainly stated if he had any dependents, how many, etc., and if he did, he surely would have had a life insurance policy naming someone as a beneficiary. In short, Sulley would have very soon found that Randall had a dependent child or spouse, as soon as he was able to gain access to Randall's employee records, and either he or the CDA would have had to go in to either delete them or something. It would also seem very strange for Social Services to randomly approach a single male to ask him to adopt or even foster a child, unless he was named in a will made out by the child's presumably deceased parents as a godparent. Single males would typically be the last people considered, discrimatory or not, even if they actively applied to adopt a kid, and people DO have to actually apply with an adoption agency and pass a rigorous screening to be even considered as temporary fosters. It's not like Social Services just goes around, going, "hey, you want this kid? You seem like a good parent; whattya say, make you a good deal on him!" I can see them, if for some reason they wound up with Randall's kid in their care, like if the mother got killed in an accident or something, checking with Sulley to try to glean more information about the father, since M.I. would have been the last place he was employed. Since apparently Randall's actual fate was covered up and kept secret, Social Services would have no way to know what happened, and the last records on him, like his bank deposits, etc., would have indicated he worked there at the factory. When people are fired, or voluntarily change jobs, they either take all their records from work(and believe me, it can be a LOT)with them, or have those forwarded to their next place of employment. If they die, either their next-of-kin or executors of their estate can obtain those records, or the company can destroy them once the legal probate time is up, but they have to give a reason for destroying those records. And if anyone is likely to find a discrepancy in a company's records on an individual employee it will be either a lawyer or a Social worker looking for that employee to pay child support and/or take over legal custody of a child.
I'm not trying to tear any fic apart, but in my line of work, I've had a LOT of dealings with Social Services/Child Services and the foster care system, since so many of my students over the years have come from these situations, and we have to really be on top of things insofar as those laws.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

Thanks ^_^ I can't for the life of me find the page I did...but do remember bits of it. For instance, Sullivan DOES take Alexander in, at least on a trial-baisis. And despite being good with kids (at least he thinks so), Sullivan finds that because of who Alexander is, any kind of security in what he does feels compromised and he's trying REALLY hard not to slip up.

And...unfortunately he's still living with Wazowski (you think someone like HIM is going to move in with Celia and deal with THAT part of a relationship?). So when big eye gets home and sees a kid, mon kid, he doesn't think much of it at first.....that is till Sullivan drops the ball that he's actually RANDALL'S.
And of course Wazowski goes frantic. Thinking "the kid's plannin something!" or thinking stupid instances like "He stole my car keys! He must've cut my breaks" "A knife's missing! Probably hiding it in his diaper!". Concided thoughts *shakes head* And poor Alex is like "What did I do??". Needless to say it's kinda a good show of how Wazowski really thinks when the other party is unaware of everything that went on.

Yeah I actually think Sullivan would call him dad too, but not that big a thing.
------------------------------------
Phew. The age thing, I KNEW, would be of some issue. But I decided to pick an interesting age (lucky 7). An age that the person is still very young, but old enough to be in a position to understand some important issues, like death. Alexander (who IS actually based on someone currently in Ran's life but...I won't reveal that just yet ^_^) most likely, at least in this fic, had a mother who is currently missing or deceased, and who may have intentionally or unintentionally dropped him in Ran's lap for either a few years after.
Although since the mother would most likely not be around, Randall might have legally changed the name...perhaps from some insecure thought that one day Alex might wonder "why don't I have your last name dad?" when he's older.
Actually the reason why they approached Sullivan (I KNOW I have no idea about Social Services...and am certainly NOT asking Randall about it. So I conceed I don't know some things...but this story came about anyway)....is actually because of Alexander. See, there's a scene when Sullivan's taking Alexander "home" for that trial basis (I'm working kinda like with uhh....Big Daddy I think?)...and Sullivan, naturally curious, wonders why HE was picked out. And Alex, being very intelligent despite his age (homeschooling thanks to Randall), says that "dad use to talk allot about you...said you were a nice person...". Needless to say, anytime Randall would come home to relieve whomever was watching (most likely someone he interviewed rigerously) Alex during his work hours, Alex would ask him if anything interesting happened. And Sullivan learns that despite how Randall acted, a part of him still thought Sullivan was a good person (which goes into how surprised Randall was of him being the hand that exhiled him. I would think that despite Randall's actions, he NEVER expected Sullivan to take that road).

[mentalguru]

Oddly, your adoption fic has spawned AU ideas in my head actually.

Imagine a Randall... who at two was adopted into Sulley's family when Sulley was 17.

I kind of have the idea for a oneshot I'll probably write up once I do a chapter at least. Its's just a snippit of their lives YEEEEARS later, where Randall is still curious however about his biological family even though no-one seems to know jack about them- plus people keep making 'comments' about how these two 'brothers' are so obviously not related by blood.

It leads to a funny misunderstanding in some ways, but it's kind of irritating at the same time. Basically it's Sulley VISITING Randall when he's just started as a scarer at the factory. Them having an argument, the strain of the fact their father died just a few years back, making up and being generally brotherly to each other, though Sulley does get his feelings a bit hurt in some respects due to Randall still wanting to know his genetic roots.

Basically: brotherly drama.

[RandallBoggs]

SULLIVAN'S...ADOPTING...RANDALL? 0_0 Oooh man. Would THAT be something. Oh jeez...I gotta see what Ran thinks of that idea just to see his reaction ^0^

Would be rather interesting. I mean Sullivan's family aren't the racey type, so adopting Randall wouldn't be out of the question. Though when you think about it, he'd clearly be different...somewhat "unused" to how he might be treated, postively, something he probably hadn't been in years.

[mentalguru]

It would be a weird one, huh RB? I plan to come to it later.

Right now, sort of a 'connections' drabble, something I may or may not put in an earlier chapter edit- basically when the guys are taking Randall back to Boo's house for the very first time in the back of the old clunker.

Don't worry, it aint romantic (waaay too early for that pfft). It's basically Boo being her curious self when she's stuck in the back of a car with an 'out of it' Randall


Sort of a pre-friendship thing, and showing (my version) of older Boo's rather tireless optimism regarding people. Not to mention, just sometimes in general. Kind of humourous in a sad sort of way, because of the conclusion Boo draws from the idea of them meeting years ago.

Like for instance- I make Boo having had a fear of reptiles when she was younger (yes, Randall isn't a reptile- but he LOOKS like one).

--

After about half an hour of constant debating, weedling and outright outrage by Paul and Jack, she had got her way. He was going with her. Like they had been left with much of an option.

She'd perhaps never known the two brothers to agree on something so well on a particular topic. It had seemed that for a long time that neither brother could do anything right in the others eyes.

Okay that was an extreme exaggeration. They didn't fight ALL the time, and they were good people, Boo knew, and like her very own brothers in a way. It would work out eventually, they just needed to knock the corners off each other and pull together. They always put their differences aside when it came to the real crunch. Well, most of the time anyway.

She just wasn't at all pleased that THIS time they'd come together to say that their newest addition to the family would not be staying at hers when she'd put forward the proposal a second time. They'd given good reasons, Boo admitted, like the fact her parents had no clue and the difficulties which came from that. Other reasons had included the fact they simply did not know the guy and that it was just all a bit... inappropriate.

Paul had supplied that last one. And while Boo knew what he meant by it a part of her was still annoyed. If she'd been a guy, there probably would be no issue regarding it. Or maybe not.

But there had been counter-arguments- one which could be summed up in the very reasonable question she'd posed: "Where ELSE is he gonna go?"

Much scuffling and begging and asking around had come to the very conclusion that there really was nowhere else. Members were already almost teaming with people currently under their roofs. Boo might have been only a medical assistant for them, but that was also a point in her favour, not to mention the fact that both she AND Peter had managed to speak to him first. So he was less likely to freak out perhaps when he came round and saw them. And after all, nothing bad had happened to them, it wasn't like he'd reacted physically negative to them very much...

Boo knew that if they ever found out he'd slammed her into the wall, she would be in big trouble for not saying anything.

But she wasn't going to let him stay in the warehouse, not when there was some breathing space at hers and when he couldn't be left alone. It didn't seem fair. He really couldn't be left on his own. And Peter was an asset- he could look after him when she couldn't be there.

In the end, through grudging yet conceded defeat on her friends behalf, she had got her way. Barely. But she could predict some sulking males in her future despite her optimism.

She was now in the back of an old clunker of a van, which only had three seats in the front in order to make way for the huge storage space both she and their new addition were currently in, with Jack, Peter and Paul to the front. She didn't want Peter back here. She doubted somehow, that Randall would like to see him gawking at him like a piece of meat if he woke up. So the other monster was covered and disguised in a way in the front seat which would hopefully not look suspicious. The back had been made as comfortable as possible by using multiple blankets and a matress which the monster was currently laid upon. She was also sitting on the edge of it to help prevent it moving as they drove. Paul had taken it upon himself to drive (he drove slowly, but carefully, not to mention Boo had declared she'd stay in the back to make sure he didn't get thrown around anyway). Jack didn't have a license yet at all.

All the same, despite a portable and battery operated heater, it was pretty cold. She shivered and instinctively she pulled another blanket on top of the monster beside her.

Then she blinked and stared at him, scrutinising his face in the bad light. Glancing up, she realised that neither the brothers or Peter were watching, their eyes fixed on the road. She flicked on a torch, still not gathering any attention from the three up front.


There was no reaction to the light. He slept soundly.

He had a lot of scars on his face, she couldn't help but realise again, including one, the largest, which stripped right across one of his eyes. Her finger hovered over it, wondering what on earth had caused such a mark.

Feeling bolder she, just for a moment, wanted to check something she was sure she had noticed earlier, and whether really existed. She threw back the covers.

There were a few scars down his back, but unlike the ones on his face, which were jagged and strange and accidental, these were sharp, delibrate and methodical in nature. Or most of them were anyway.

They were also old, though perhaps not as old as the ones of his head.

Perhaps he'd met humans earlier she reasoned, looking thoughtful as she continued to watch him breathing. Perhaps he'd had to undergo surgery from someone who had wanted to help him. It was possible. It wasn't like they knew every human who had ever helped a monster, and she couldn't think of any other reason he might have them at the moment, and he certainly could not have done them to himself.

When he began to shiver, immediately feeling guilty, she threw the covers back on and berated herself.

Randall was a mystery really, though even in a short amount of time, they'd gathered SOME information. He was a former scarer, they knew that much, he'd disappeared, believed dead in fact from his old world fifteen years ago, but whether he'd spent ALL that time in their world was still open for debate, they'd even managed to find what might have been a few sightings however since he'd collapsed. One of their friends from the south had reported seeing someone matching his description, but upon trying to get closer, had promptly lost him completely. He said it was if he'd completely disappeared into thin air...

'Heh. Disappeared'. It wasn't impossible, but it was pretty unlikely. Being able to do THAT sort of thing was a rare ability to have, in fact, general disappearing tricks were VERY rare, perhaps only second to morphing...

She flinched slightly when she recalled this information, plus a recent memory buried. Flicking off the torch, looking slightly more despondent, she turned her attention back to him and gave a light smile:

"Don't get any funny ideas." she said, in a light jokey tone as she whispered to him "with no windows back here, you're about the only thing interesting here at all."

A slight shift, and a mumble she couldn't work out. She sighed with a twiddle the torch in her right hand, risking a throw and a catch.

She wondered once again, how on earth someone could have been in their world so long without anyone they knew finding him or taking him home. He certainly was a strange one. Granted, some of the previously believed 'myths' had been there a long time, but she had a feeling that this one was different- in a way he was. Because he'd never been officially banished at all, it meant he had to have come here by choice, right? Every monster had some reason for coming here, it was just a question of finding out what that was.

Someone was missing him. Had to be. There always was. Boo felt almost heartened at the idea of playing a part in some kind of reunion. She still got a rush when she thought of the guy who had finally found his son in the same city- after almost a year apart. Some monsters had humans instead, humans they'd missed that they had met on their travels, and to see them reunited could be almost as good, sometimes better even than the others.

Everybody had somebody. And with fifteen years, even if he'd spent some on his own she was confident there had to be someone out there wondering where he was.

They'd find out. Eventually. Probably when he felt he could trust them more.

She raised an eyebrow at him again:

'Just what are you about Randall?' she thought, but didn't say out loud.

Boo liked puzzles and mystery games. Or just games in general. It was just one of many reasons she liked meeting new people. People and the connections they had to others were always interesting. And usually fun. You just had to find out what they were.

Despite his rough talk to her earlier, he now almost looked innocent in his sleep. Helpless really, particulary considering his condition. He'd been by himself for a LITTLE while at least, which was kind of sad.

Fifteen years...

She thought this through again.

The report had come through in Lousiana in the end, and a part of her could not give a small smile at that idea. She could not remember, but did know she had old relatives in that area, and if by some weird chance she had met him when she was much younger, she wondered what would have happened.

Perhaps they could have been friends? She'd been a pretty friendly kid, from what people told her anyway and she had a habit of walking up to people, animals or anything in general.

Usually she had given her parents some heart attacks on the basis of her unstable curiosity, and had been told REPEATEDLY that she was not to talk to strangers. Or pet strange dogs. Or cats.Or touch anything that looked 'weird'.

But everything which looked weird to them was the most interesting thing in the world to her apparently, which had resulted in further panic from her mother for reasons unknown to her daughter.

A part of Boo however could not but think what Jack would say if he was reading his thoughts would have bluntly and effectively shot down her optimistic view of her and this guy being friends. For one simple fact:

She would have been scared of reptiles at the time. Even though he technically WASN'T one, he still looked like one, and as a younger kid, he might have been that one thing she would run from, curiosity be damned.

It was true. Everyone told her this, including her parents. At five years old, someone had once shown her a coral snake, in response she'd pushed the hand a way so quickly, they'd actually dropped the poor thing and had to stop her from stomping it, after which she'd recieved an exceedingly stern lecture from someones father regarding it.

Sometimes this story got repeated to visitors, to which some people found funny. But she didn't really see the funny side herself. She just chalked it up to being one of those strange things parents talked about, and that perhaps one day she'd understand where they were coming from.

For all that it mattered, she had no recollection of any of this. It had only been during a few school trips to Zoos and pet shops that she'd eventually got over it, and she barely remembered a time when she'd been afraid of them now.

Still the fact remained, she could almost hear Jack say, if she'd met Randall back then, reptile or not, on the basis of look alone, she would have been too terrified to go up to him, curiosity or friendliness be damned.

At that particular moment, Randall gave a cough and a sneeze and started to twitch slightly, to which Boo automatically pulled his head onto her lap.

She gave a small amused smile when he stopped moving, just sighing a little before relaxing again.

'I don't care what Jack says' she thought 'I think if we'd met years ago, I think we could have been friends.' she paused in her head.

'And who knows? I might have got over my fear even earlier if we had.'

[pitbulllady]

Very good little drabble, adding to that sense of mystery that surrounds Randall, even to those of us who know what happened to him in the movie, but can only surmise what must have happened after that.

Couple of nit-pics, though, one involving a certain American vs. British term for a common household object used to light the way in the dark. Here in the US, we call those "flashlights". A "torch" is used for the same thing, but involves carrying something that has been doused with flammable material on one end, which is lit, and is actually on fire. I wouldn't recommend carrying one of those in the back of a clunker of a van that probably has been used to transport something flammable at some point!

Other nit-pic: NO ONE in their right mind, not even the late, great Steve Irwin, would be carrying a Coral Snake. Coral Snakes are highly venomous members of the Cobra family and they have a nervous, high-strung disposition. There is only one source of Coral Snake antivenin on the entire North American continent, in Arizona, so if you get bitten, you're basically screwed. You might as well just say goodbye and lie down, because you're a goner. I'd probably run like hell from someone who handed ME a Coral Snake, too, not out of fear of the snake, but because anyone who'd do that is clearly as far "out to lunch" as you can get, and if there's one thing deadlier than a highly neurotoxic Elapid, it's a psychotic nut-case human who walks around carrying something that even Steve Irwin wouldn't touch.

pitbulllady

[mentalguru]

Torch- well kind of... I'm the writer I guess, so I use british speak in those cases specifically when I myself am describing the thing, so I use torch, unless an american is saying 'flashlight' in speech bubbles or in their specific thoughts. You know, like I described it as a 'football' but the character said 'soccer ball' in one of my other chapters. Same thing in this case- torch here IS the same as your flashlight. So no risk of flames there!

Actually checked about the snake- yeah you're right, I don't know WHY I wrote coral snake, I think I must be getting mixed up? I more or less did write it down quickly- because I remembered something about that name and something about a harmless nake getting mixed up with a dangerous one.

Guess the coral snake was the dangerous one- really should have checked that. (Doh)

Sorry about that. (Pretty embarrassing!)

Thanks for the critique!

Edit: A yes, now I see, I was randomly warping (in my mind) about coral snakes- harmless mimics of coral snakes and all that, obviously my mind went down the wrong route there!

Lesson learned in that respect I think. XD.

[RandallBoggs]

Actually torch CAN be a term for a flashlight Pitbulllady. Heck. A caveman would look at a flashlight and some thought could come of it being a "torch".
Heck. Perhaps a more disputable term is calling a gun a "piece" 0_0

*shakes head* I couldn't read most of it as it brought up some memories I'd rather not look back on...but from what I saw, Mary being in a close space with him and her curiousity just gives a waver of mystery and intrigue to anybody reading ^_^

[pitbulllady]

Jan 14, 2010 19:20:54 GMT -5 RandallBoggs said:

Actually torch CAN be a term for a flashlight Pitbulllady. Heck. A caveman would look at a flashlight and some thought could come of it being a "torch".
Heck. Perhaps a more disputable term is calling a gun a "piece" 0_0

*shakes head* I couldn't read most of it as it brought up some memories I'd rather not look back on...but from what I saw, Mary being in a close space with him and her curiousity just gives a waver of mystery and intrigue to anybody reading ^_^

Yeah, but I'm not talking Neanderthals here. Most Americans would not know that a "torch" meant "flashlight". I can see how that term came about, and I guess the fact that it is used by the narrator is OK, but if Randall or Mary or one of the characters in NYC were to refer to it by that name, it would sound a bit out-of-place. Then again, most folks probably wouldn't understand some of the things Randall would say, either. How many of you have ever slept on a davenport, for example, or used a sweeper to clean up a mess on the floor? Hint: the latter is NOT a broom, and a davenport is not a city in Iowa! Randall would know what they were, though, just like he'd know that a "traffic jam" meant two cars and a pick-up trying to pass a tractor or combine harvestor on the highway.

pitbulllady

[RandallBoggs]

Niether was I 0_0
*chuckles* Think Ran knows what a torch is *laughs* *blinks*...Though I guess it would replace the flashlight imagine with one of a mob with said sticks on fire...

[mentalguru]

It's odd how things are so different over there- I know the story behind why you tried to changed the letters or removed them from some words (it wasn't because you despise vowels after all). The different terms are also strange- but technically, you are right when you call crisps 'potatoe chips' since you guys invented them for instance. Just like FOOTBALL is the real name for 'soccer'.

In the UK/Ireland things can get crazy with different slang and accents- there are people who could tell you right down to the VILLAGE where you come from in some areas (or so I'm told). For such a small area of land, we have a crazy range of accents.

--

Just a weird thing I wanted to post. Yes, I'm afraid it's also connections driven- it's sort of a study of Boo's character or my protrayal anyway. Hpefully it will make sense.

It was sort of inspired by a Doctor Who episode- surrounding the alien race the 'Ood' who have their BRAINS in their hands, and are incredibly peaceful- and have been exploited by humans as a servant/slave race. For some reason though, my mind went into overdrive as I realised I'd misremembered the details of the episode- first thinking it was their HEART in their hands.

So yeah. Weird ass Boo oneshot (or at least my version of her). Some Randall included.

This ISN'T a romance thing either- though love and a heart is mentioned, it's a friendship thing strictly, and sort of a look into Boo's optimism surrounding people, how she trusts easily in some ways and not in others.

--

If someone had ever asked Randall what he thought about the way Boo approached people, he would probably quickly snap perhaps that it was none of their business. But no-one had ever asked this question, and in the end his mind had never thought to question it much, but if he had been...and if he felt slightly more poetic about the entire thing...

He would say it was like she held her heart in her hand and gave it outright to everyone she met.

Boo liked to meet new people, not just because of her curiosity, but because she hoped to perhaps to make a new friend. And by doing that she offered them her heart. This boldness terrified, confused and infuriated Randall but it was the truth. In almost every person she met, she handed them her heart, which was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. But probably both.

She wasn't overly sensitive when it came to insults, even given the fact she was a teenager. Jibs at her intelligence didn't have much of an effect- she knew her head was fine and that she just had a strange way of looking at things sometimes. And she knew strange didn't mean bad. Any jibs at looks were also unlikely to hold- she was pretty sure she wasn't ugly, and besides, growing up among people from another world had shown that there were multiple different opinions on what was beautiful, perhaps more than there were stars in the universe. Opinions on looks were like the views on what was normal- it was all relative in the end.

But regardless, she was not made of stone, she was not indestructible, and yet she continued to, not just LET people take it, but automatically hand over the organ like it was almost nothing.

It was the reactions of the people which differed most of all. Some did not notice, and did not return the favour. Some absentmindedly nudged and proded at it without realising it, and though Randall did not know it, even she had taken a stab or two in her short life.

She was like the child who brought her favourite toy, her only toy perhaps, in order to share with other kids and at the end of the day sometimes found it broken, to which she would just shrug her shoulders and smile lightly as she always did and walk away with it, her giving little indication of pain, perhaps only speckles of blood apparent as she clutched at it.

Ready to give to the next person the next time. Sometimes, no often, even the same person.

If Randall contemplated this, he would probably have eventually asked her why on earth she kept doing this. Boo herself would have had to have thought a little while before she answered, and simply shrugged as she always did, reasoning that if she didn't give it to someone, it wouldn't be fully fixed if she couldn't do it by herself, and it could sometimes be best done so by the person who hurt it in the first place. Give them a chance if they wanted to.

And it was true. People did fix little pieces she couldn't do so on our own. Although given their own prods and tugs and vice versa, Paul and Jack gave up their own hearts quite easily, as they without realising it, took a stitch and thread to her wounds, and she theirs. Many people did this in the group. But Boo gave up hers at such a high rate and so quickly compared to so many people that it would be no wonder that Randall would be terrified if he thought about it deeply. Sometimes, people could take that sort of thing for granted. Even worse, they could see the insane benefits of such a thing and use it to their advantage.

She trusted people, most people anyway (unusually for reasons Randall could not yet discern, her own parents weren't), and she usually thought the best of people despite everything she had seen. Despite what her head told her. She wasn't gullible, not there, but that stupid beating thing that others held in their palms was. She thought and believed in the end, people could and should get along. And sometimes her optimism and joyfulness could be catching. People wanted to believe in people, and in themselves and she could give them that. Someone who believed in them. But other times people resented it, people hated it or ignored it and as a result, her heart in their hands, like it or not, she could recieve wounds if they clenched their fists.

Boo, if she was feeling in an honest mood, would say she HAD to give it to other people in response, after she'd fixed it up as best as she could on her own. And she couldn't really contemplate the idea of NOT giving it to people. That was just too weird. Besides, she thought if she kept it locked away, she might as well not have one in the first place.

Randall in truth did not know what to do whenever she gave HIM her heart, he couldn't ignore it even if he tried but he wasn't entirely sure what on earth to do with it. He loathed not being AND being in its presence. He resented how she could seem to do it so easily when he couldn't, and yet he also wanted to yell at her to stop it because the idea was so crazy and he was more than a little concerned. In the end, when given it, he treated it as if it was the most dangerous thing in the world, holding it at arms length, but at the saem time also being afraid of what he might do to it.

Someone would someday take advantage of this whole setup, Randall knew deep down. People always did. And he was afraid he might be the one to do so. Even by accident. Sometimes the worst damage was inflicted through ignorance.

If he'd looked a bit closer, he'd have seen that while it always appeared full and round at first glance once 'fixed', he might have noticed that in reality some of the stitching was mismatched and shoddy, albeit well meaning, and there were still the odd tear here and there.

But Boo continued to smile on the outside. Fears and tears and anger distracted people from others with worse wounds, and she still had a whole heart. Which she would continue to give.
--

A bit sappy, but you know I like that... and kind of sad. Sorry. I know.

[mentalguru]

Mr. Waternoose is not in reality two-faced. He only has one. Or at least one still living.

People may be confused by this statement. But in fact, the idea of being "two-faced" is perhaps a term thrown around by people more often than it should be.

In reality, most people have many faces, not just two.

In terms of looking to the extremes however, there are indeed two sides to almost every person. There is the part of them that, when it comes to the bare bones, simply isn't all that nice. There's also the part of them which is. But while at first glance we may think that we see people fully display one of the other, in truth both these extremes are rarely if ever shown if you look just that little bit closer. You usually can find the features mixed. Just take a breath and look. Which features of which face are being used today? In truth a mesh of the two faces, the two sides together, is usually apparent, it's simply that at different times a different combination is found, and hence a different face can be shown. People at first just might not notice it, because the differences between the face shown and the extremes can at times be subtle, other times however they are not subtle at all. Sometimes people do indeed try to hide features conciously or not, but most have their limits.

There is almost always however, despite our best efforts, a mix of the various features in most of our interactions. We do not often use black or white but instead use a variety of grey in our pallettes. Sometimes it is not noticible, sometimes the resultant mesh of these two sides can result in something even more repulsive to people than even the believed dark extreme of a person. It can terrify people on a level far more than they can say. There is nothing more bewildering and terrifying than a terrible act you could imagine yourself doing. Sometimes such a realisation, whether conciously or not can result in either empathy or revulsion itself.

Sometimes even, a mix of the two of various degrees.

But the old CEO didn't exactly have this. He did not exactly have the two sides, nor did he have the full range that resulted from the two extremes, though at one time he did. He really now only had one face... and a mask.

Over time he and others had cut most (though not all) of the features away on his good side. Eventually he had taken these pieces, gluing them together with precision, with such precision that the gaps could not be seen even by some of those he held close to him. He didn't want to be like other people, who over time could reveal the mix of their features because it was only a matter of time when that happened to you, no he wanted his good side displayed, only his good features shown to the world if he could help it.

It was done.

His work seemingly completed, he slipped on the repaired chitin mask and breathed out. It was a perfect fit. Most of his good features were now completely and utterly displayed for the world to see. It was dead but it could be seen, and that was all that mattered. And if he needed to, he could slip it off when it was convenient to do so, and he could put it back on in a heart beat.

Underneath, his other face, his still living face, smiled.