Felix Wright

ₒ°❂ — WALKING around oogie boogie’s halloween party, fred was fully in his element. halloween was probably his favorite holiday, simply because it was a day where no one, him included, was considered a nerd or a weirdo. it was a day where he didn’t have to be scared to show his own creativity. this year was the first year he designed his own costume from head to toe. he wasn’t dressed as spider-man or captain fancy like the previous years, but he came in his very own fredzilla costume, the superhero persona he had invented for himself. so far, he had been mingling with the crowd, getting quite some positive reactions. he had no idea who 95% of the people he had talked to were, but he didn’t mind at all. since his costume didn’t show his face, he planned to stay anonymous too. just to pretend and keep the mystery alive.

“ oh no, i can’t possibly tell you who i am underneath this suit. i need to keep my true identity a secret, you know, in case there’s someone out there who has it out for me. besides, peter parker doesn’t just casually reveal to the world he’s spider-man either. it’s too risky, ” fred told the person he was talking, with a deep and mysterious voice, trying to keep up his act.

〖 costume: x x 〗

Back in his high school days, you could label Felix a jack of all trades. (or of all extracurricular clubs if you’d like). He was never a mathlete or practising cheerleader by any means, but he was always hanging out with those who were and picked up a thing or two from chess to comics. Upon hearing a somewhat familiar name such as Spiderman, Felix was relieved to find that the comic heroes mustn't have changed that much over the years. With an amused laugh, he countered, "I’ve got a hunch Peter Parker would be the first superhero to out himself, albeit on accident, young man. Mister monster. Mister monsterman?" Question lingered in his tone while he eyed the other's costume, not sure what to call him. Perhaps, the times had changed just a tad after all. “I ain’t no evil mastermind though. As ya can see, I’m just good ol’ me...who didn’t realize Halloween had a dress code for those over the age of tweens.”

Calhoun wasn’t one who was much for celebrating anything, really. But she had always liked Halloween. Not the candy or the stupid costumes, but the creepy, horror-y aspect she’d enjoyed as long as she could remember. It was for this reason that she decided to decorate her house this year. However, nearly two hours into trying to create a creepy exterior, she realized she was failing miserably. She also realized someone had been watching. Turning around, a deadpan look on her face, she spoke dryly and somewhat threateningly. “How long have you been standing there for? And when were you planning to leave?” She huffed out, frustrated. “And think carefully about how you answer the second question.”

@sunnysidestarters

Lumiere held a bright smile at Felix’s predicament, not necessarily laughing at him, but hoping to lighten the mood. Though he usually kept them for cleaning out mouthpieces in a pinch, he handed Felix a wet wipe gently - cautious to any excrement on his own clothes, “Perhaps we should get you home, my friend. You’ll be better suited to deal with… that.”

Grateful, Felix accepted the wipe but he couldn’t stop a grimace from forming on his face when he reached up to the goo. His eyes automatically closed shut when he touched it because of the unfamiliar experience. “My, my, didn’t know my hair looked like the hotspot for popping a gooky. Is this one of them things that bring luck ya reckon or is it the Halloween spirit tricking me instead?” He chuckled, folding the filled wipe the best he could before tossing it in the trashcan near the bench and thanking Lumière once more. Nodding, he agreed with the plan but there was a small detail his politeness could not overlook, “Heading home would normally send the both of us off to different directions though, wouldn’t it? Are ya sure ya don’t mind tagging along to Silent Springs, bud?”

☼*·ﾟHEART sinking into the bottom of his chest, Ralph couldn’t help the tears building up in his eyes, threatening to fall down his cheeks. The words Felix chose hurt him, more than he cared to admit. He knew nothing in their lives would ever be how they wanted it to, no matter what. How in the world was he supposed to explain how he felt? Not one day of his life did his family make him feel special. Sure, it probably happened as a kid, but as far as Ralph remembered, Felix was always the perfect child. He was always the one the family was proud of and the one they did everything for. When he’d finally decided how his life would continue, they laughed in his face and acted as if he didn’t care. And now, listening to Felix’s words, he didn’t know how to tell him how he felt. Ralph didn’t want to have to explain how he viewed life. Felix would never understand. “Yeah, we are family, Felix. But you lived in the light. You lived in their perfect little world. I was constantly told I was bad, that I wasn’t going to make it in the world like you would. Do you have any idea what that does to a kid?” He asked, his body tensing up, shoulders practically expanding. “No, you don’t, and I don’t expect you to understand. Just don’t ever again, tell me what you think you know about my relationship with the family. I wanted to come back, believe me, I did. But every time I did, I was treated with nothing but disrespect. They never believed in me.” 

The tears finally rolled down his cheeks. How could Felix say such a thing? He’d called their parents and told them everything. Letters were written, calls were made, voicemails left. But nothing happened and he hated the way he felt. Fiddling with the bottom of his flannel shirt, he didn’t know how he could look at his brother anymore. “All I wanted was to be your brother for the rest of my life. We were so close as kids and then all of a sudden, it was like I wasn’t important anymore, just because I struggled with life,” Ralph continued, trying not to stutter. Biting the corner of his lip, he refused to meet his brother’s eyes. “They never helped. All I wanted was some assistance, but everything was focused on you.” This was not how this conversation was supposed to go, but the taller man had no idea what to say to him. At this point, Ralph’s face was completely covered in tears and he hated how it felt, never having let anyone see him cry like that. “I didn’t believe they loved me. No one stopped me. Why couldn’t they have stopped me? Things might’ve been different.”

At this moment, he was glad there was some element of distraction with his sink needing fixing. When the tensions rose, at least they could go back to the problem at hand, the physical problem and not the emotional one eating away at both of them. Ralph reached over and gently turned the water tap on, sniffling, trying not to think about how they were going to get out of this situation. But would they even get out of it? He was afraid that once the sink was fixed, Felix would leave and everything would be tense again. The next time they saw each other would be worse than this, because everything was out in the open, the stress, the hurt, the emotions and every ounce of pain would come flooding back into the world. Ralph didn’t want that. He wanted a brother again, but he had no idea how to get it. Did Felix even want it? Was it even possible? Could they really be family again?

The popular opinion would say that Felix and shouting were two concepts that didn’t go hand in hand. Even on a busy work floor, he would rather invest in walkie-talkies than to raise his voice. So the volume of his reply, albeit with the good intention of just wanting to be heard, shocked himself more than anyone really. “Why, fine! Then they didn’t give you a lot of attention. Perhaps that’s 'cause you’re built like a bear and they believed you were as independent as you are big! How is that a bad thing?” He’d set a step forward and his arms were flailing at his sides, but feeling incredibly small as soon as his eyes met Ralph’s, his mind blanked and retreated from his defying stance. Felix failed to see the different light he could shed on things. Or perhaps he simply refused to turn on that metaphorical lamp. But why would he? So he could incriminate moms and pops? The whole family Wright? Just shove them aside like Ralph did because how they raised him wasn’t according to his expectations so it brought him down? Felix prided himself on having an open mind but Ralph refusing to see the bright side of things rather brought him close to losing it.

Fighting with someone you loved felt like a marathon that needless to say, Felix was not trained for. When painstakingly fast the tears ran over his brother’s cheeks, all he wanted to do was forfeit the right to speak any more. So, out of breath, he listened instead and the message that landed came with a fear that Felix hadn’t dared to discover within himself before. It was his fault, wasn’t it? As a big brother, you have one job and he’d failed at even that simple task: to protect the little one. A quietness in stark contrast with before, dominated his now soft voice, “For what it’s worth, I never thought you were a bad guy back then and I don’t think you’re a bad guy right now. I just don’t know how to make you stop thinking you’re one.” Because the truth of the matter was that it didn’t matter if what Ralph said was true or not. He had made it his truth and even Felix could tell it wasn’t the happy scenery one would want to live in. Casting his eyes to the floor, away, there was only the space between them left to look at and though this had been the closest they’d been standing together in years, it hardly seemed so. A certain type of dizzy filled his head, as if the thought he’d been holding back for family dinners and unmade phone calls long - too long, was finally becoming fatal. Stumbling over his words, he choked it out. “I- I’m afraid that I can’t.”

The water escaping from the bottom of the pipe came as a total surprise. And even though it sprayed all over Felix’s face and uniform, it could hardly be called a refreshing one. He’d been wrong about the leak being situated around the end of the supply line. And if he could be wrong about something he had years of experience up his sleeve of, then who was to say he couldn’t be wrong about other things? The last bit of water sputtered out but the look thrown over his shoulder at Ralph - who had managed to turn off the tap again in a quick reflex - didn’t show much gratefulness. It was mostly sad. Sad to know so little about the important things in life - in his brother’s life. Sad to know it must be too late now to ask questions. With a sigh of defeat, his goodbye came out as a mere echo of his thoughts, “Why, now I don’t know what to believe anymore.” And when the office phone rang days later to schedule a new follow-up appointment, it was never again Felix who answered.

Normally she was better at containing herself, but the referring to deadlines as deathlines made her laugh. Oh, how they felt that way at times, she mused to herself, resting her chin in her hands as the man continued. Elsa shook her head and gave a wave of her hand, gesturing that he could continue, but honestly it looked like he could hardly wait for her go ahead and he launched himself right into his spiel. “Well, as nice as a walk sounds, putting off this paper any more than I already have doesn’t sound like it’d make me any happier than I am right now, wouldn’t you agree?” Although even she, a renowned lover of the indoors, thought a bit of fresh air sounded like a marvelous idea. “But if I could get another page out, then I think I could afford myself the break. Maybe.” With the last word she frowned, glancing back down at her books. “Or maybe I will take that walk. I don’t foresee myself actually getting any work done at the moment. Perhaps you’re right, stepping away might actually do me some good.”

It already counted as today’s victory to get a laugh out of the girl. But a laugh of his own bubbled up as he watched her outer debate with herself play out. As soon as the negotiations settled on the suggested walk, however, he clapped his hands with glee. “We’ll only step out for as long as it’ll take to clear that smart noggin of yours, you have my word.” Almost solemnly, he rested the palm of his hand against his chest when he made the promise to return her to her books in time. “Then the words will come straight to ya once you think of them anew.” 

With his arm halfway stuck in his jacket’s sleeve, he already turned to hold the door open for her. A gust of autumn air swept in but at least it wasn’t raining out in good old Sunnyside. It would be an enjoyable walk around the neighbourhood, he could tell. “I could ask the shop owner to keep that bag of yours behind the counter once you’ve packed up? If ya wanna. Us, locals, have known each other all our lives, ya see and we all sorta look out for each other if ya let us.” At least, that’s what Felix’s optimism firmly believed.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she placed her hands on the nape of her neck, letting her head droop. “I’ve only got a few days until this is due and I can’t seem to concentrate,” Elsa complained, biting her lip. Already she was dreading what a bad grade on this assignment would do to her GPA. Picking her head up, she let out another sigh and stared ahead blankly. “I think I need coffee.” / @sunnysidestarters​

“You kids and your deathlines.” Felix sighed with a certain exasperation, unable to stop himself from speaking up now that he’d sat and assessed the situation for over a good quarter of an hour. “Y’all only ever think about getting scores and stickers and you’re all none the happier because of it! I’ll tell ya what you need instead of coffee, if I may be so impolite to suggest, miss,” There was a slight pause but his excitement burst out before the little lady could even answer him. “A good old-fashioned walk! Some fresh air and clearing your head will do wonders. Turn over a leaf for once instead of a page, and who knows where it’ll get ya?” Felix failed to mention that he was never the best of his class. (He’d dropped out early, in fact.) But arguably, he may have been the happiest one. “I’ll tell ya where it gets ya: a sweet hot coco from my pocket, that’s right!”

Since the school year had started, Lumiere treasured his afternoons off spending time with the town. Though he loved teaching, talking to people his own age had it’s charm as well. Meeting people when they weren’t stuck in a classroom could also result in some very different results. With a hop in his step, Lumiere took a seat next to another townie on the boardwalk, “Mon cher ami, you look wonderful today; did you do something different with your hair?”

@sunnysidestarters

          ╰ · ☾ ›  WITH ALL OF the madness that was going on around the quaint town of sunnyside and the amount of trouble that morgan was beginning to find herself in she didn’t have to think twice about her fathers offer to get away for a while. typically, morph would have opted to stay home. although she loved going out on the sailboat and being on the water, she enjoyed being around her friends. sunnyside was home and the thought of leaving it was terrifying, but she needed some time away. that was for certain. now, a little over a month later, she was back in town and feeling refreshed, revamped and finally, a little bit more mature. ready to return back to her everyday life on land, morgan was quick to hit the streets of sunnyside, searching everywhere for a familiar face. “ hey !! “ she called out, picking up the pace as she sprinted down the sidewalk. “ miss me? “ the small girl laughed, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. 

What better way to spend a sunny Saturday than by walking down south to the beach? Backpack strapped over his shoulders, striped towel flung over there as well and sporting a vastly different outfit than usual, one might not recognize Felix at first glance. (Unless Atlantic beach is exactly the one spot you know him from, then you might've seen that flamingo print tank top being unironically worn before.) As head of his repair company, he was always the last employee to take up his vacation days but it didn't really matter to him. Sunnyside had as much radiance to offer in late September than any other of the summer months. And so did its residents, apparently.

“Not as far as I’m aware.” Dash shrugged simply with a half-smile, one he was trying his hardest to avoid letting looked forced. Was it somewhat condescending, not to mention demeaning, not being deemed responsible enough to not take care of himself for an afternoon when he was nineteen? Very much so. Was his mother’s reasoning for sending him over to Felix’s, that since he’d “quit” his job and applied for Walter Elias without telling them until the morning he was leaving for his first day they weren’t sure they could trust him with money for the moment, let alone the house, good enough for him? Absolutely not. Was he going to try and ignore that for the afternoon for Felix’s sake? Most certainly. Technically, he could have just not gone - say he took the wrong bus, got off at the wrong stop, felt stupid about asking for help, deal with the consequences when they realised it was bullshit when he got home - but now he was here, he did have to admit - if he was able to look past how stupid it felt being treated like a kid again, some part of him had actually missed the place, missed Felix. Not that he’d admit it, obviously, not to him, he barely could to himself. Just so long as he could tell himself he was there by his own choosing, maybe his time there would be bearable.

Before he had a chance to counter his claim about the sweetness of something that was sugarfree - he’d worked in the mall long enough and had the basic common sense to know it was a lie - his attention had been grabbed by the mention of the ‘digi-room’. Before that moment, he suddenly realised, he’d managed to completely forget about it - and though the prospect of returning wasn’t exactly what he’d had on his mind for the day, he definitely preferred it to having to spend the rest of the day engaging in weird smalltalk like he did with the rest of his parent’s friends. Screw it. Letting the grip on his phone in his pocket relax slightly, he glanced past him towards the hallway he knew lead to it. “Which ones’ve you got?” he finally asked, glancing back towards him, something of a challenging glint in his eye.

Upon Dash's confirmation that there would be nothing wrong with cooking up spaghetti later on, Felix nodded with a feeling of relief. Which he came to realize was silly since worrying about a young adult was 'not done' or cool or something like that. So Felix managed to reign his excitement in. Just a tad, at least. They continued down the picture frame-filled hallway. "Why, it's been a while since you've dropped by so there are a few new additions to the collection, I'd reckon." It wasn’t said in an accusatory fashion, of course, but he would admit to having missed the kid in a heartbeat. Felix had been calling it ‘a collection’ ever since he'd had three games but now a fairly filled shelf against the wall suited the term a little better. Most of them were purchased on recommendation though and the true seventies man had little to no experience with those Playboxes and Xstations. The last time he won, let alone beat a high score at a video game, must've been in a bar that shut down before Dash was even born. "Let's see," He said, crouching down and pretending to browse through the plastic, DVD cases. "There's the one with the racey cars and um, the one where you have to do your duty, I think and- oh ya know, why don't ya take a look yourself? You'll find your fancy faster than me and I don't have much of a preference to what we'll play anyways." Because the one thing Felix did understand about the games he owned, is that multiplayer mode meant multiple players!

"Now your mama didn't give any specific instructions like back in the good old days so I'm assuming that means you didn't grew any new food allergies, did ya?" Felix knew better than to seem worried from the getgo. All the Sunnyside kids were a delight to look after, he knew from experience. Even the ones that used to run laps around his living room whenever he tried to catch 'em for bedtime - like the middle one from the Parr family who had brought him another visit today. 

"Anyhow, dinnertime isn't until 7 anyways. But if you're hungry, give me a shout or- well, you know where the cookies are at. Ya know, there's a new pack in the top cupboard. Sugarfree but just as sweet!" Last thing he wanted was to charge the Duracell bunny in his living room. Maybe Felix could sit Dash down for the time being. "So what kind of fun you wanna get up to in the meantime? Oh, perhaps ya could pick a game from the digi-room?" And no, that wasn't Felix's best attempt at an Australian accent but what he'd called the most 'technologically advanced' room in the house. It had more than a TV, at least.

☼*·ﾟHEARING the words his brother stated felt strange, odd, almost incorrect. He’d never felt like he was good enough to be compared to his brother, let alone told he was good. It felt wrong, almost like he could’ve been playing with him. Ralph couldn’t explain the feeling he felt standing in his kitchen with his brother. They’d grown apart, years ago and now he wasn’t sure how to react. Both of them were in the same space, with no buffer, no one to talk over the conversation should they need it. Watching him, he wondered if they could really become close again. It wasn’t necessarily a strong thought in his mind. Nodding, he hoped and wondered how much Felix really cared about all of his answers. Was he just making small talk to ease the quietness in the kitchen? But Ralph was still going to answer his questions. He wanted his brother to know he was doing alright with his life. “Yeah, I do still cook, every day. I try to make a meal every night. If I don’t cook something, I feel like my day’s incomplete,” Ralph explained, still not sure what he’d make today. There were quite a few things on his list, but racking his brain, he just couldn’t think of anything that sounded good enough. He’d always been a fan of cooking, always loved how good it made him feel. And around his family, Ralph was always the one who cooked, but for some reason, he never got the praise for it. It bugged him, every day.

As his brother spoke, he nodded, agreeing with him as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. But really, Ralph knew nothing about parts in the sink or otherwise. He trusted his brother. After all, this is what he did. This is what he was good at. And maybe, part of him did want to reconcile with him. Maybe at some point in the future, their relationship could again be what it was when they were kids. Ralph missed him, he really did, but they were so different now. It couldn’t be the same. “Okay and that’s not hard to get, right?” Shaking his head, he continued. “No, no, I’ll stay. I’d feel bad leaving you. Whatever you need me to do, just tell me, I’ll do it,” Ralph explained. He wanted to help his brother in any way he can and then maybe, he wouldn’t feel like such a screw up every single time he was around him. Biting his lip, he leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. How could he explain how he felt around the family? 

Felix would never understand how he felt. But how in the world could Ralph explain it? He felt like he was useless compared to his brother. “It’s not the same with me, Felix. You can show up and they grin and hug you and tell you how happy they are to see you. I show up and they scowl and ask me if I’ve done something useful,” he started to explain, his face dropping. “You’ve always been the one they’re proud of and I feel like I’m nothing compared to you. All of this,” Ralph gestured to his body, his house, and the food, “was to try and be something both you and the family could be proud of. I know none of this is your fault and I’m not blaming you, hell, you were my best friend as a kid, but them, the rest of them, they treat me like I’m not part of the family. I just want them to be proud of me, for once, you know.” His words slipped through his mouth without a care in the world and he was upset, so incredibly upset, not at all sure how to go about continuing the conversation now. Heart feeling like it was going to sink to the bottom of his chest, Ralph took a deep breath, not sure how to respond to his brother’s comment. What did he mean he missed him? Why hadn’t they all tried harder? “Felix, I… I missed you. I just thought you didn’t care about me anymore, ‘cause I was just a screw up,” Ralph’s eyes filled up with tears. His large hands wiped them away, begging them to disappear, because no, no, he couldn’t cry in front of his brother. 

If there was one thing Felix loved to avoid, it had to be conflict. He didn’t fancy being in the same room of it and would literally flee the scene as soon as voices were raised or tears were spilt. But even though he tried to pretend his metal wrench shining under the kitchen lights was suddenly the most interesting in the world and looked at nothing else much, he couldn’t escape what his brother was saying. And Felix had to confront him on his words, which was arguably not a smart thing to do considering they hadn’t seen eye to eye in years but the older one jumped in anyway. “We’re supposed to be family, Ralph. That’s the way things just are and maybe not every day together is sunshine and apple pie but come on… you moved away lookin’ for something you didn’t even try to find on our side of the fence first. Moms and pops love ya so much, you gots to know that their special attention on you only comes from good intentions. And I… well, frankly there shouldn’t even be a doubt that I care for ya, you’re my little brother.” 

As he spoke those words, Felix had a hard time ignoring the fact that he was defending his family to his family. Why were there even sides to begin with?! Why couldn’t everyone just get along nicely? Perhaps he knew why… people did say ‘what the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over’, didn’t they? And over the years, Felix had always taken those words a little bit too literally. “I just can’t add up how this… adventure of yours supposedly was in our interest. If this is your finish line, why not have invited us over to cheer you on? Ya know? I’m not calling you the L-word but I would, maybe, imagine that's how a liar might perhaps phrase things indeed." He scratched the back of his head, knowing his next words may be heavy on his chest now but would be even heavier on his heart once he said them out loud. “I’m just saying that, to me, it seems you moved out to take on a new successful role and that’s fine by me - I’m rooting for ya - but it sure stings like a bee when you pretend it’s because you had no role at home. You just didn’t like the one you got and couldn’t try to see how to make the best things...with us.”

7. What’s a funny mistake you’ve made recently?

“Last week, I hung up some bathroom mirrors at work that had been shipped in and then I got a call a day later or so from the client I did the work for and all she asked me was how tall I was. And albeit a bit odd, I just fessed up to her I was 5′10 about the last time I checked, ya know? But it wasn’t until she said ‘that explains why my son has to squat while he shaves’ that I remembered the mirrors. Turns out I installed them at my own height and her son must be a giant, I s’ppose.”

13. Favorite idiom?

7. What’s a funny mistake you’ve made recently?

“The other day, I thought Peter was talking to me about that meal kit delivery service HelloFresh and I was about to tell him I only ever bought from Blue Apron before. Cause I do recall I was once told their products were responsibly sourced, probably by Mr. Ocampo. Anyhow, turns out his little noggin had come up with a new word profesh.” Felix laughed. At the memory and the sea of similar ones it drifted amidst. “Those kiddos and their lingos, am I right?”

@silvestriis & @iinsum

20. What do you look for in someone’s online dating profile?

“Why, to be honest with ya, I’ve heard the rumour mill spill a lot of deets on this whole online dating phenomena but I haven’t quite tried a hand at it yet myself. I suppose similar interests might be nice and whether they like cuddling if that’s in there, on their form? Ya need to fill in a form, right?”

28. What is the coolest name that you would never name a real human child?

21. How many people have you thought “glad i don’t have to interact with them ever again” about?

“Ya gotta understand, in my line of work I suppose not everyone is a ray of sunshine and I’ll admit it has happened once… or maybe twice… ya know that I thought if I wasn’t so in control of my attitude, I might’ve been inclined to say that there’s a sort of place down there,” Felix pointed at the ground, “that those clients should consider making a… a visit towards.”

22. What do you NOT want on your tombstone?

“Oof! That’s a tough one but I’d have to say: I don’t want anything written on there that the family and friends I leave behind don’t like, ya see? For all I care they simply put ‘rest in peace’ on there. As long as those words shall bring them comfort, that’s alright by me!”

24. What is the strangest website you have bookmarked?

“Now I’ve learned the internet can be a bit of a troll-place. Did I say that alright? Because did ya know there is a website on the web that lets you pop bubblewrap? I was trying to order me a few rolls and somehow ended up there and my, I must say, you’re in for some good, child-friendly fun there!”

27. Do you follow the expiration date on food?