#terrence ember

Morgyn Ember, their sons Dylan and Terrence, and Dylan's son Erick got to enjoy a little Harvestfest together in Strangerville!

Erick wasn't exactly having a great time in the last post, and even the Watcher was sad at the end. But things didn't remain sad!

Terrence also had an imaginary friend, though for different reasons. When given the chance to make Wylde real, he eagerly did so, and thus Wylde Hussain [he/him] joined the household as a real teenage boy.

Terrence developed the crush after speaking to his now real friend for the first time.

Tomax is not sure about this suddenly real kid.

While Terrence and Wylde hang out, Erick is busy making friends with one of his classmates, Aleah Amaya [she/her]. She's a macabre music lover, and Erick thinks she's pretty cool.

And she thinks Erick is irresistible!

The next day, Erick got a text from someone unexpected...

After so long of no contact, no visits, and not even a birthday present, his mom texts him about Aleah?? How did she even know?

Erick was upset by this.

He turned to his dad because he wasn't sure how to process what he was feeling. Why did his mom decide to message him now? And after all of this time, she didn't even apologize? Dylan did his best to comfort the boy and cheer him up, but he also knew he needed to have a conversation with Celeste.

He couldn't help but to greet her with an embrace, but he knew this wasn't going to be an easy or pleasant conversation.

They argued back and forth with Dylan trying to explain how her behavior was hurting their boy, and Celeste not seeming to understand how he could be a teenager and upset over something like a birthday or a text message.

It was then that Dylan lost his cool and said the one thing that struck a real nerve.

"The way you're acting is just like L.Faba!!"

When she winced, he knew he had finally gotten through to her. He remembered her telling him about two of her younger siblings and how L was their biological mom, but didn't seem to care about them at all... until they were teens...

Lilly in particular was hurt, and Celeste had been angry on her sister's behalf.

Even if he was right, Dylan still felt like he went too far with the comment, so he apologized.

Before she left, Kevin (Dylan's poppa and Erick's grandpop) pulled Celeste aside to talk about the situation. He understood that parenthood wasn't for everyone, but if she really wanted to reconnect with Erick, then she should commit to doing so wholeheartedly. It wouldn't be easy, but it would also get significantly harder the more time went on.

Celeste left with a lot to think about.

While Celeste is living in denial and poor August has no idea that they're a rebound, we're going to visit Dylan and Erick! Harvestfest and Erick's birthday are now close at hand!

Dylan has been very intentional and present in Erick's life, and poppa Kevin had to take a moment to let him know how proud of him he was.

Dylan regrets not having taken a couple of the photos with him whenever he moved out, but he also genuinely expected the separation to be temporary. He still found an old high school picture that made him smile. It's a bad picture in a way because his familiar photobomed it, but that's also one of the things that made him smile. It was a reminder of shared jokes, playground adventures, and homework time.

His paren, Morgyn, tried reaching out to Celeste once already, so he sent a message as well. Erick's birthday was coming up very soon, and he wanted to give her another chance to show her son that she cared.

Erick has been working on his paper crafting. He genuinely enjoys it, but the heart of his efforts is bittersweet... he remembers the goofy kitty he made for his mom and how she rejected his gift. Maybe she'll be at his birthday, and then he can give her a much nicer one this time? Maybe she'll love it like she loves the actual cats...

He's also gotten really close to his uncles, who are more like brothers to him due to age, Jerome and Terrence. One of their dads also moved out a while ago, but it was due to him developing a fear of magic. While Terrence seems to accept and understand what happened, Jerome has still not quite forgiven him.

Erick hasn't played with Pyra in a long time, and he's not set any fires either. Still, he sometimes lashes out, and Harvestfest was one such day. He had been mean to both Jerome and Terrence, and had gotten timed out twice as a result.

Whenever dinner was served, he went to sit outside figuring that everyone would be happier. Dylan saw this and made sure to come sit with him so they could talk.

He explained to the boy that no one was mad at him, but he did need to apologize. Dylan made sure to tell him how proud he was of Erick for his good grades, his creative growth, and just in general.

Whenever they were done eating and talking, Erick gave his dad a paper mache plant that he had made. Dylan accepted it lovingly, and thought to himself how lucky he was to have such a thoughtful son. Sure, things started off rough, but that was also not Erick's fault.

Meanwhile, inside the house, the Watcher wasn't paying attention to anyone else's needs, and apparently neither was Morgyn. Sorry, sweetie.

The night before Erick's birthday, he was happily wearing the "scary" bird mask he made while playing with his toys. Downstairs, Morgyn was checking in on Dylan to see if he had heard anything from Celeste. The answer was no... Celeste had not come to visit nor had she called. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Dylan knew that she wouldn't drop by for Erick's birthday.

The boy himself seemed to have the same worries... would his mom call at least? Maybe send over a gift? Anything? Dylan told him that he wasn't sure, but regardless of what she did or didn't do, he would be there.

[I meant to get a picture of the whole birthday cake preparation and Erick blowing out the candles, but I was busy trying to keep Morgyn from interrupting everything with dead speak and forgot.]

Erick Ember's teenage look!

Erick is now Gloomy and a Foodie [formerly Evil]. He's got his mom's nose and his dad's chin.

And no, Celeste didn't visit on his birthday, or call, or even send a gift.

With him being a teen, it's all really hit him what's happened with his mom, so the combination of that + his dad's genuine love and efforts with him warranted the switch over from Evil to Gloomy.

And if that hasn't made you sad enough.

Erick decided it was time to officially say good bye to Pyra. She was a genuine friend (and a terrible influence) whenever he was very alone, but now he's a teenager with friends (and probably more friends to come!).

Dag dag...

[The Watcher genuinely teared up at this.]