Jo was 10 when her dad was killed on May 16th, 1995. She turned 10 in April, so that means she was almost finished with 4th grade.

I imagine Ellen would've had her take absences for like 2-4 weeks. But when she got back to school, everything was different. All of the sudden, everyone in her grade knew she existed, and they'd offer condolences (as best as 10 year olds can) and classmates who never gave her the time of day before were suddenly being super nice to her. She didn't fit in before, but now she stuck out like a sore thumb. And what's worse, everyone pitied her. Gawking at her in the halls, the cafeteria, and the playground, as though she was a 3 legged puppy in an animal shelter ad.

Her grades took a nosedive. After all, she'd been behind from the time she missed and she couldn't bring herself to care about making any of it up. Ellen received calls from the school about her behavior more and more. Things like not completing her homework, refusing to participate in certain activities, "disturbing imagery" (as her teacher put it) in her work, even picking fights with other students on occasion.

It wasn't any easier at home. Apathy seeped into every facet of her life. Things she used to enjoy didn't interest her anymore, and they only reminded her of her dad. Ellen was there for her as much as she could be while still running the Roadhouse, since they couldn't afford to take time off. She had been angry since the day she told Jo he'd died- though, Jo was used to her mother being angry while her dad was hunting, so for her to be angry after he died while hunting made sense. She had no reason to even consider she was really mad at John. But she didn't understand why her mother would get upset if she mentioned him or asked if he would be stopping by sometime.

Ellen and Jo had always butted heads, but it only got worse with Bill's absence. Bill served as the mediator between them, so without him, there was no one to translate the other's perspective. Jo started shutting her mother out and isolating.

One day while Ellen was busy working downstairs, Jo went through her father's things and found his journal. She hid it in her room and read it whenever she got time alone.

Over the years, whenever she missed him, she'd reread his journal. Eventually she had it memorized, but it still brought her comfort to see his handwriting, to hear his voice in it. She felt as though she was back in his arms, sitting on his lap as he told her the epic adventure of his latest hunt across the country. It was the only thing that made her feel close to him again.

hiiiiiiii

why so many garf posts today you might be asking

well

it's friday again garfie baby friday!

heyo! :D congrats on the (probably) 14k followers!! youre such a talented artist all your things are so expressive and im obsessed with your team greedling comics lakjgnahfg they are SO good and so in character bless<3 (if you wanted to doodle some/one of them doing something fun for halloween? costumes or something? no worries if you dont want to tho ^-^ have a fantastic spooky week~)

the nice thing about staying in the woods so long is that you're always ready for halloween!

"I love the NV cannibal perk in theory cause of RP and just evil play through potential. But in practice I don’t have the patience for the animation every time I eat someone."

Fallout Confessions

Serendipity

good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

some artfights i have artfighted :]

everyday my tumblr mutuals are posting about bands I have not heard of (affectionate, making notes)

⚡️🍑⚡️

GME3

something about a man holding a liver gently and showing it to his superior like a toddler showing their parent a mud pie ... kinda hot

you guys my gaydar is SO GOOD. i took one look at sandi toksvig and said to my mum, “i bet you anything that woman is a lesbian,” and my mum said “you couldn’t possibly know that. you must have googled it,” and i said, “you don’t believe me?” and my mum was like, “no, she is, but how did you know?! you’ve never seen her shows before!”

ty for noticing the colouring on the csi ladies set! 🩵 I put a lot of thought into it (and how they would look good together) so it genuinely made my day to read that tag. specifically Catherine - fire, passion, courage, also her hair Morgan - sunshine, SoCal, light, optimism Sara - nature/plant/veggie, growth, learning but also judgemental Sofia - (honestly this set was largely built around the fact I like to colour her blue because it makes her eyes pop 😂) BUT - air, confidence, reliability, tranquility, loyalty Finn - (low key got lumped with this colour) but I do also see her as a balance of Catherine and Morgan so it makes sense) - Emotional strength, spontaneity, warmth, energy

you’re welcome, it’s a lovely gifset! and thank you for sharing this, i love the explanations, they all fit so well. these are all pretty much the colours I would’ve chosen too!

genuinely love when shit like this happens on my dash:

Meeting the local rehome candidate either tomorrow or Wednesday, I really hope she is a good match 🥺

@graveshft said: i know i’m not who you expected to see this morning.

vanessa blinks up at him, still adjusting to wakefulness. it's funny-- to her it's like no time has passed at all, but mike looks different. a little better than when she last saw him, actually. that's nice. it's nice that he's here, too. 'i wasn't really expecting to see anyone this morning.' there's a warm little feeling inside her, seeing him in the daylight after so much time spent under shadowed neon and half-dead, yellowing fluorescents. there is also, however, the quiet suggestion of a question mark. of all people, why would he be here to see her?

'i...' she begins carefully, still half drowsy and wincing at the tinny, unused sound of her voice. 'i don't mean to sound ungrateful–– because i am. grateful, i mean. i just, uh... what are you... doing here?'