DeeDee is not coming home for Christmas. She's not a Christmas person in general. It's a holiday that she always kind of wishes she could just skip over, even if it means sacrificing presents. I couldn't pinpoint just why she doesn't dig it. I just know she doesn't. Though this year, she at least has her reasons. Namely, that she's been quietly pretty severely depressed, and the last thing she wants to see is her younger brother and younger sister all lovey with their significant others, and the holiday get together where she'll have to see Logan all over Sloane, and everyone all paired off and celebrating and being happy, when all she really wants to do is curl up somewhere and be left alone.

I think I've mentioned it before, but DeeDee is a closet romantic. She desperately wants to find that someone that she loves, and that loves her back. He doesn't have to be a perfect gentleman, he doesn't have to be some prettyboy. She just really desperately wants to find that one person she connects with on every level, that can be a friend, a lover, a protector, and a partner in crime. And each time she falls for someone, she sincerely believes she's found The One. So every time it doesn't work out, she takes it a little worse than the last time, because jesus, how many times can she be so stupid and so massively misread the whole situation? It breaks her down and leaves her just that little bit more worse off than before.

She's opted to stay behind in Hawaii for Christmas because she doesn't trust herself to not be depressed and spiteful to everyone around her. She knows she tends to lash out at anyone stupid enough to pass through her line of fire, and she doesn't want the guilt of being mean to someone that doesn't deserve it piling on top of her already very low feeling. She knows Mom is going to be upset with her, and that Dad won't be overly thrilled about it either, but she just can't bring herself to care. She wants to be left alone. So she's turning her phone off, not touching the computer, and going to just spend the day surfing, riding her bike around the island, or doing anything that keeps her otherwise occupied and hopefully too focused and then worn out to be upset or lonely.

...Sadly enough, that's always the overwhelming vibe I get from her. She's constantly Lonely. The intensity of it tends to vary, but the feeling always lingers there in some sense. I always feel like she comes across so angsty in posts and writing, which irks me, because she's not. She's loud, she's stubborn, she's impulsive, and she tends to always want to turn everything into a joke. She's just also not overly loud for me when she's doing well, because she has no reason to be. She's out living her life, getting new scrapes and scars and stories and hospital bills. So I never have a whole lot of cause to write about her when she's doing well, unless she's gained some new unsightly injury, and even those I don't ever see or hear about enough to make note of them all. But the emotional hurt does ring loud and clear. And the emotional hurt always goes back to the simple fact that she is extremely Lonely, and has never figured out how to cope with it. Her answer is usually to get high, or to do something extremely reckless and dangerous to get an adrenaline rush that reminds her of how sweet life can be. The high part has been dropped since she started crashing with Cliff again, since she knows he doesn't particularly like that. And the company of her brother has also kept her somewhat in line on the beyond dangerous stunts count. How well she'll stay in line once she doesn't have to consider the despairing look he'll give her if she comes limping home with half her skin hanging off is highly questionable.

I always find it particularly amusing to watch all of them around Christmas time, mainly because most of mine do seem to actually love the holiday. Which is ironic, given my own personal apathy/dislike of it. The Verona holiday tour got amended to basically be a string of holiday shows at various clubs mostly in California. They've been playing one every night since last Friday, going as far north as Santa Cruz and down into San Diego, though I know tonight they're in Vegas. It's all been pretty smallish clubs, too. Like a House of Blues would qualify as a big venue by the standard size places they've booked. Gabe is actually enjoying it, because it feels like when they got started, and they're seeing a lot of old familiar faces. There's also the bonus of being able to go back to their home most nights, which cuts down on his irritability and discomfort. Their last show of the year is going to actually be at Axis on Tuesday night.

Mandy and Emilie have really turned into total bffs at this point, with her pretty much right on level with Jeanae. Which reminds me that I should probably do a post just on Emilie, since she is definitely sticking around. ...Actually, I'll just include that here.



Emilie Nouvelle
D.O.B.: February 11th
Age: 21 years
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown, loose curls falling past her shoulders
Complexion: Medium
Height: 5'7"
Status: Single
Occupation: None

So it's already known that Emilie ended up here after a fight with her ex-boyfriend while on the way to a vacation in Hawaii. Short version? She basically decided she liked it here and hasn't felt motivated to leave. Mandy loves having another girl around the house, Vinnie has no issues with the hot girl that tends to cook and make sure they're well fed, and she's perfectly comfortable crashing on the couch, so she hasn't been high on motivation to leave. She did apply at a few universities in the area and is half-heartedly looking for a job while also looking into what citizenship would take. I'm not sure what her parents did, but I do know they both died a little over a year ago, and being an only child, she inherited everything and promptly sold it all off and moved in with her then-boyfriend in an apartment in Paris. So part of her lack of interest in returning is due to the fact that she has no actual home there. ...I get the vibe it was actually a legitimately abusive relationship. They had only been together a short amount of time before her parents passed away, and it was a grief impulse that made her decide to live with him. From there, it went like most abusive relationships do, with him slowly alienating her from all of her friends and her life outside of him. It was mostly all emotional, up until the blatantly physical display on their trip when she finally snapped and said enough was enough. Basically, she feels like she has just as little of a life left for her in Paris as she does in LA, so why not just stay in LA and start over? She is fully fluent in English, though her accent is pretty heavy. So far, she's completely avoided any sort of dating and has just been going through a sort of recovery and reestablishing phase. She spends most of her time with either Gabe or Mandy, when she's not out doing her own thing. Personality-wise, she does reminds me a lot of Mandy. Outspoken, heart on her sleeve, playful, teasing, and sweet. Definitely more impulsive, but not in a reckless sort of way.

Anyways, now that that's out of the way. Mandy and Emilie have gotten to be incredibly close friends at this point, and have set up a big Christmas party at the house on Wednesday night. They're cooking a full meal for the entire extended band family, music, presents, drinks, the whole deal. They're even making sure to do plenty of vegan dishes for the odd people that freak over animal products.

Gabe, of course, loves the holiday even more than usual, what with having a little princess of his own to spoil. And he is very definitely intending to spoil her. Their living room will be fairly filled with presents for Leah, as well as his usual over-spoiling of Jake and Gina. And he's even sucking up his personal hatred of the cold and snow to take the family on a trip over the weekend so Leah can see and enjoy the snow. He's not super-thrilled about this particular vacation, but he does know it's something that will make Gina and Leah happy, so he can deal with it.

Steve is still definitely Sick. I think he may actually have pneumonia, not the flu. His cough is still sounding rough and he's been pretty exhausted. Actually staying in bed and just trying to sleep it off. I don't think he's contagious, and he's certainly not hospital-level sick, but he is very definitely Sick. He's not much for being taken care of, but he has resigned himself to letting Jessi give him a hand, since he really is too exhausted and weakened to do a whole lot for himself. His disposition has been less pleasant than usual, since he really hates feeling dependent on anyone, but he keeps the crankiness in check, because he knows Jessi is just trying to get him better. Mostly, he's just staying in bed or on the couch with his dog.

DeeDee is still in Hawaii and showing no real interest in coming back. It's sad seeing her so broken down again after getting to see her back up at her normal happy level. She really fully believes that she's just cursed in love. No matter what approach she takes, it just always turns out wrong for her. And the sting is just that much stronger after seeing her kid brother find someone so easily and get settled in so young. She's quietly pretty jealous of Mikey right now, so she's kept her distance to avoid being unintentionally spiteful to him or Lucy. But she's doing better staying with Cliff out in Hawaii. She's been helping out with the surf classes and office work, earning her keep since she got there.

Oh, and in poking, I've found out that the house that Gabe, Gina, and Jake have been having built is getting very near completion. Target move-in will be probably in late January now, which I'd imagine they're all pretty excited for.

All taken from TFLN:

(931): Dipping my christmas cookies in Kaluha. Santa would be proud.
Mandy

(732): Just rolled a joint with wrapping paper.. and you say I have no christmas spirit
DeeDee

(917): I was giving him a blow job in the kitchen, but it was uncomfortable. So I took the oven mitts and used them as knee pads.
(917): Don't tell me i'm not fucking resourceful.
Desiree

(904): the bouncer kept askin you for id just to see how long it would take you to find your pants
Re: Mikey

(713): on the last problem of the exam i just drew a picture of a cat and left
Brett

(330): just had dinner with my dad's new gf and her daughter.. had to drink a beer to get through it.. she's 19 she has on a disney watch and snowflake earrings
Anton

(719): Found a barbie with nipples. Life is complete.
Gabe or Brett

(609): Imagine if we didn't have a dick. We would be so much more productive.
Gabe and Brett

(631): You know that annoying kid in my psych class? Accidentally hit him in the face with a door today. Perfect end to the semester.
Tara

(973): We got so high we spray painted his girlfriend's UGG boots. She's CRYING. It's hysterical.
DeeDee or Colt

(805): Every time I type "should" my phone autocorrects to "shouldn't". Even my phone knows my ideas are terrible.
DeeDee

(850): Fuck the gym. I just shaved m'cooch and my pants now fit looser.... Dont judge me.
Desiree

(713): He threw a goldfish cracker into my toilet and then proceeded to laugh for 32 minutes. I timed it.
DeeDee re:Tay

(304): Getting 10 cents back for every can is really just encouraging alcoholism.
Brett

(201): As soon as I saw the video camera and red light on, I started rolling my eyes when he would put it in me and telling him maybe his dick was too small cause I didn't feel anything...trust me that tape is going nowhere
Alissa

(610): Oh I'll be okay, it's only a Christmas party so the worst that could happen is I end up playing madden naked again.
Mikey

(602): So I've come to the conclusion that I would cry if I had an ugly baby.
Angie

(708): Blow job with a beer in the shower, I just created the ultimate day spa for dudes.
Joel

(651): I found a beer bottle on top of the urinal, peed in it and put it back... if anyone gets drunk enough to fall for it they deserve it.
Gabe

(607): I have your camera. You have 35 naked pictures of me. You're welcome.
Mandy

(740): She keeps The Day After Pill in her bra... there is a God.
Micah

(213): How the hell am I supposed to know what lotion to get her? They should have a dressing booth where I could go test how good it is for jerking off, then I'd know.
Brett

(419): It's not called being bisexual its called making out with anyone that has a mouth.
Gabe

(817): He ate me out and then left in a hurry and shouted "Sorry to dine and dash" as he left my house
Mandy & Gabe

(217): Piggyback rides are my preferred mode of transportation.
Jake

(310): I realized that the internet ruins the joy of a father passing down Playboys to his son.
Gabe or Brett

(586): I walked into his room and he was eskimo kissing his weed..
DeeDee re:Tay

(609): So theres a slight possibility I may not graduate according to planned because I was out getting laid instead of studying. And I'm okay with that.
Brett