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Posting Name: Darkest
Surname: Blackwood
DH: Daniel Benjamin (47) [karate instructor, ex-Marine] *imprisoned until age 52*
DW: Catalina Raquel (Acosta) "Cata" (45) [Dallas Police Officer, ex-army]
DS: Nathaniel Reginald "Nathan" (22, triplet to Benjamin and Nora) [bartender]
-Dgf: Alyssa Miriel Vanmeter (21) [waitress]
--DD: Calixta Blythe (4) [Mother: Laura Riviera]
--DS: Aidan Dominic (3) [Mother: Alyssa Vanmeter]
--DD: Annemarie Louisa (2) [Mother: Alyssa Vanmeter]
DS: Benjamin Karl (22, triplet to Nathan and Nora) [college - junior (video game design)]
-DW: Keira Ann Westfall-Blackwood (21) [college - junior (nurse)]
--DD: Laurel Elizabeth (1) [Mother: Keira Westfall]
DD: Eleanor Grace "Nora" (22, triplet to Nathan and Ben) [medical school (orthopedic surgeon]
-Dbf: Francis Emery Pryce (22) [medical school (pediatrician)]
DD: Madeline Rose (22) [illegitimate - Daniel] [college - senior (English teacher)]
-Dbf: Christian Michael Fraley (23) [college - senior (architecture)]
AD: Tasha Raquel "Tash" (21) [parents: Peter Smith & Chela Acosta-Smith] [college - junior (law enforcement)]
-Dbf: Franco Durante Acardi (22) [college - senior (translator)]
DS: Trenton Rhys "Trent" (21) [professional musician (bass guitarist in rock band)]
Dgf: Virginia Rose Heavener (19) [college - freshman (lawyer)]
AD: Heather Anica Blackwood-Yates (20) [parents: Peter Smith & Chela Acosta-Smith] [college - freshman (lawyer)]
-DH: Maxwell Rhys Yates “Max” (21) [college - sophomore (architecture)]
--DD: Audrey Raquel Yates (5) [Father: Max Yates]
DS: Daniel Blaise (19) {Cerebral Palsy} [college - freshman (computer programmer)]
-Dgf: Autumn Maeve Ratliff (21) [hacker]
DS: Justin Cedric "Jace" (17, twin to Kathryn) [high school junior]
-Dgf: Lydia Simone Rosewood (15, sister to Romeo) [high school sophomore]
DD: Kathryn Helena (17, twin to Jace) [high school junior]
-Dbf: Romeo Morpheus Rosewood (17, brother to Lydia) [high school junior]
Random Event Number: 10
Should there be any more “free” rounds?: Yes
Two male names to add: Caspian and Jedediah
Two female names to add: Gloria and Ariadne
Essay Topic: The Past Five Years
Format: Five-Paragraph Cheeseburger
Class: AP English, Block 2
Date: January 13, 2032
By: Kathryn Blackwood
The past five years have been the most stressful I can remember. I am the youngest of ten children, so life is always very busy, and things have only become busier in the past five years. Many changes, some expected and some shocking, have occurred. My entire view of the world has been changed by the events that have passed within my family; I can honestly say everything I knew about myself and my family has been altered. The very core of who I am has been dramatically changed due to the events of the past five years. The three events in the past five years that have changed me the most are eight of my nine siblings moving out on their own, gaining five nieces and nephews, and seeing my father being sent to prison for assisting the terrorists that killed the First Lady sixteen years ago.
My first memories of childhood all include my nine siblings. They have all been there for me my entire life, and, although I knew that one day we would go our separate ways, I was hardly prepared for the change. My oldest brother, Nathan, was the first to move out. Nathan and I have never been particularly close, but it was a severe shock to see him move to Austin and take a job as a bartender with no warning whatsoever. Just one day after Nathan disappeared into the sunset, Nora, one of his triplets, announced she had been accepted into Pre-Med and would be moving to California in two weeks. Nora has always been there for me when nobody else could be, and I missed her terribly. I never could have guessed how it would feel to lose my big sister. Madeline, who is six months younger than the triplets, was the next to leave, although she only moved into an apartment in Dallas, which is only a fifteen minute drive. Madeline is now a senior in college, majoring in Education with a minor in English. I still see her almost every weekend, so her moving out has been relatively easy to adjust to. Once all his “twins” were gone, it was not too long before Benjamin decided to move out. He lives near the campus at his college in Virginia, where he is training to become a video game designer. The next to leave was my sister Tasha, who moved to Italy to be with her boyfriend, Franco Acardi, as soon as she turned eighteen. Tasha and Franco have been dating ever since Franco spent a year as an exchange student in Dallas, and Tasha’s move has been planned since he returned to Italy. Tasha has always been one of my best allies, and her move to Italy, however planned, was a major adjustment for me. I am still having trouble adjusting to the idea that I can only see her once or twice a year. After Tasha left, Trent, the next-oldest, finally got his lucky break with his band. He still officially lives with us, but it often feels like I see more of Tasha than I do of him. The next of my siblings to move out was Heather, along with her daughter, Audrey. I miss them both, but it is rather nice not to have a toddler waking me up at four in the morning every Saturday. With all the others gone, it was only a matter of time until Daniel moved out. He left at the beginning of the fall semester this year to live with his girlfriend, Autumn Ratliff. He is a freshman in college with a major in computer programming, which is accented by the under-the-table programming skills of his girlfriend. By the time Daniel left, I was used to seeing my siblings move out, but my mother had a terrible time adjusting. Why? Because Daniel has Cerebral Palsy, he has to use crutches to get around. Mom, being a mom, worries about him constantly, even though he hardly needs to be worried over. Now that Daniel is gone, Mom has to focus all her worrying on my twin brother, Jace, and me. We hardly mind all her attention, as seeing eight of her ten babies leave the nest in the span of five short years has surely caused her even more stress than it does us. If being the only children in the house seems weird to us, it must be even harder for Mom, who has had at least four children running around and making noise for the past twenty-two years. Going from a family of twelve to a family of three in just five years has been one of the most major transitions I have ever had to make.
One thing that makes the transition easier for my mother is the addition of five babies to the family. The oldest child is Heather’s daughter Audrey, who is five. Having Audrey around was a huge change for the entire family, but, with ten teenagers at the time, one baby hardly made a difference in the family dynamic. The next child born was Nathan’s daughter, Calixta. Nathan and Laura, Calixta’s mother, broke up a few weeks before Calixta was born, but Nathan has custody of Calixta, along with his two other children from his new girlfriend, Alyssa Vanmeter. I have not seen much of Calixta, Aidan, and Annemarie, as they live in Austin and rarely visit, but I love being an aunt to them. My newest niece is Benjamin’s daughter, Laurel, who lives in Virginia in an apartment near Benjamin’s college with Benjamin and his wife, Keira Westfall-Blackwood. With Benjamin living so far away, I only see Laurel on holidays, but she is a delightful little girl. Although I do not see much of my nieces and nephews, I treasure the time I do get to spend with them. Having five small children in my life has been a large help in filling the hole created by the loss of my siblings and father. I have a new joy in my life for each of the past five life-altering years.
The changes I have already mentioned were both huge, but the one I have yet to discuss is by far the most dramatic event I have seen in my entire life, let alone the past five years. The day my father was arrested for “terrorist activities” was the single-most life-altering day of my life. My mother, a Dallas Police Officer, was forced to stand and watch as her husband, an ex-Marine, was taken from the house at two in the morning by a team of FBI agents bearing firearms, pepper spray, and batons. Mom, Jace, Daniel, and I were the only people home that terrible night, and the image of Dad being taken from the house in handcuffs is one none of us will ever forget. I am sure whoever reads this has heard the story time and again, but I will briefly recount it to give my point of view. The story of my father’s arrest goes back over twenty-two years, to when my mother was pregnant for the first time. My mom has always been a pretty grouchy person when she is ill, and being pregnant with triplets was certainly no exception. Dad eventually lost his temper and left her for two weeks, spending the time with one of his ex-girlfriends, Anna Copperfield. Unbeknownst to him, Anna was a member of the terrorist group that would later murder the First Lady. Dad was, of course, shocked when he found out Anna was wanted for assassination, nine months after her baby girl, my sister Madeline, was left on the doorstep. He had no idea where she could be, so he never came forward as a former friend. When Anna was arrested four years ago, she named my father as one of the men who had assisted her in evading arrest. Dad was arrested less than two hours after the accusation was made, and he spent the next three months in prison awaiting trial. During that time, Dad was shown a list of other members of the sect, and he revealed that he had unknowingly helped one of them - another of his ex-girlfriends - to cross into Mexico. Dad was not convicted of terrorism, but he was convicted for helping a terrorist escape into Mexico, even though he had not known she was a terrorist. My father was sentenced to seven years in a maximum security prison, and I was sentenced to the belittlement of my teachers and peers. I feel terrible enough that my father was sent to prison, and now I have to deal with the distrust of the people around me. All my father did was help an old friend who was in trouble, yet I am treated as if he had been the one to put the bullet through the First Lady’s heart. My father’s being sent to prison has been the most major change in the past five years of my life.
The three most major changes in my life during the past five years have been my siblings moving out, the addition of five nieces and nephews, and my father’s arrest. I feel that all of these changes have helped me to mature more quickly than most people, even if each change has been very difficult to adjust to. I now see things much differently than most people my age, but I do not think the changes in my personality have been for the worst. I will always wish my father had never been arrested, but such a major event has helped me nearly as much as it has hurt me. In the next five years, I will go through many more changes, and I can only hope they will be less painful changes than those in the past five years.
Aidan
Annemarie
Audrey
Calixta
Laurel
Surname: Blackwood
DH: Daniel Benjamin (47) [karate instructor, ex-Marine] *imprisoned until age 52*
DW: Catalina Raquel (Acosta) "Cata" (45) [Dallas Police Officer, ex-army]
DS: Nathaniel Reginald "Nathan" (22, triplet to Benjamin and Nora) [bartender]
-Dgf: Alyssa Miriel Vanmeter (21) [waitress]
--DD: Calixta Blythe (4) [Mother: Laura Riviera]
--DS: Aidan Dominic (3) [Mother: Alyssa Vanmeter]
--DD: Annemarie Louisa (2) [Mother: Alyssa Vanmeter]
DS: Benjamin Karl (22, triplet to Nathan and Nora) [college - junior (video game design)]
-DW: Keira Ann Westfall-Blackwood (21) [college - junior (nurse)]
--DD: Laurel Elizabeth (1) [Mother: Keira Westfall]
DD: Eleanor Grace "Nora" (22, triplet to Nathan and Ben) [medical school (orthopedic surgeon]
-Dbf: Francis Emery Pryce (22) [medical school (pediatrician)]
DD: Madeline Rose (22) [illegitimate - Daniel] [college - senior (English teacher)]
-Dbf: Christian Michael Fraley (23) [college - senior (architecture)]
AD: Tasha Raquel "Tash" (21) [parents: Peter Smith & Chela Acosta-Smith] [college - junior (law enforcement)]
-Dbf: Franco Durante Acardi (22) [college - senior (translator)]
DS: Trenton Rhys "Trent" (21) [professional musician (bass guitarist in rock band)]
Dgf: Virginia Rose Heavener (19) [college - freshman (lawyer)]
AD: Heather Anica Blackwood-Yates (20) [parents: Peter Smith & Chela Acosta-Smith] [college - freshman (lawyer)]
-DH: Maxwell Rhys Yates “Max” (21) [college - sophomore (architecture)]
--DD: Audrey Raquel Yates (5) [Father: Max Yates]
DS: Daniel Blaise (19) {Cerebral Palsy} [college - freshman (computer programmer)]
-Dgf: Autumn Maeve Ratliff (21) [hacker]
DS: Justin Cedric "Jace" (17, twin to Kathryn) [high school junior]
-Dgf: Lydia Simone Rosewood (15, sister to Romeo) [high school sophomore]
DD: Kathryn Helena (17, twin to Jace) [high school junior]
-Dbf: Romeo Morpheus Rosewood (17, brother to Lydia) [high school junior]
Random Event Number: 10
Should there be any more “free” rounds?: Yes
Two male names to add: Caspian and Jedediah
Two female names to add: Gloria and Ariadne
Essay Topic: The Past Five Years
Format: Five-Paragraph Cheeseburger
Class: AP English, Block 2
Date: January 13, 2032
By: Kathryn Blackwood
The past five years have been the most stressful I can remember. I am the youngest of ten children, so life is always very busy, and things have only become busier in the past five years. Many changes, some expected and some shocking, have occurred. My entire view of the world has been changed by the events that have passed within my family; I can honestly say everything I knew about myself and my family has been altered. The very core of who I am has been dramatically changed due to the events of the past five years. The three events in the past five years that have changed me the most are eight of my nine siblings moving out on their own, gaining five nieces and nephews, and seeing my father being sent to prison for assisting the terrorists that killed the First Lady sixteen years ago.
My first memories of childhood all include my nine siblings. They have all been there for me my entire life, and, although I knew that one day we would go our separate ways, I was hardly prepared for the change. My oldest brother, Nathan, was the first to move out. Nathan and I have never been particularly close, but it was a severe shock to see him move to Austin and take a job as a bartender with no warning whatsoever. Just one day after Nathan disappeared into the sunset, Nora, one of his triplets, announced she had been accepted into Pre-Med and would be moving to California in two weeks. Nora has always been there for me when nobody else could be, and I missed her terribly. I never could have guessed how it would feel to lose my big sister. Madeline, who is six months younger than the triplets, was the next to leave, although she only moved into an apartment in Dallas, which is only a fifteen minute drive. Madeline is now a senior in college, majoring in Education with a minor in English. I still see her almost every weekend, so her moving out has been relatively easy to adjust to. Once all his “twins” were gone, it was not too long before Benjamin decided to move out. He lives near the campus at his college in Virginia, where he is training to become a video game designer. The next to leave was my sister Tasha, who moved to Italy to be with her boyfriend, Franco Acardi, as soon as she turned eighteen. Tasha and Franco have been dating ever since Franco spent a year as an exchange student in Dallas, and Tasha’s move has been planned since he returned to Italy. Tasha has always been one of my best allies, and her move to Italy, however planned, was a major adjustment for me. I am still having trouble adjusting to the idea that I can only see her once or twice a year. After Tasha left, Trent, the next-oldest, finally got his lucky break with his band. He still officially lives with us, but it often feels like I see more of Tasha than I do of him. The next of my siblings to move out was Heather, along with her daughter, Audrey. I miss them both, but it is rather nice not to have a toddler waking me up at four in the morning every Saturday. With all the others gone, it was only a matter of time until Daniel moved out. He left at the beginning of the fall semester this year to live with his girlfriend, Autumn Ratliff. He is a freshman in college with a major in computer programming, which is accented by the under-the-table programming skills of his girlfriend. By the time Daniel left, I was used to seeing my siblings move out, but my mother had a terrible time adjusting. Why? Because Daniel has Cerebral Palsy, he has to use crutches to get around. Mom, being a mom, worries about him constantly, even though he hardly needs to be worried over. Now that Daniel is gone, Mom has to focus all her worrying on my twin brother, Jace, and me. We hardly mind all her attention, as seeing eight of her ten babies leave the nest in the span of five short years has surely caused her even more stress than it does us. If being the only children in the house seems weird to us, it must be even harder for Mom, who has had at least four children running around and making noise for the past twenty-two years. Going from a family of twelve to a family of three in just five years has been one of the most major transitions I have ever had to make.
One thing that makes the transition easier for my mother is the addition of five babies to the family. The oldest child is Heather’s daughter Audrey, who is five. Having Audrey around was a huge change for the entire family, but, with ten teenagers at the time, one baby hardly made a difference in the family dynamic. The next child born was Nathan’s daughter, Calixta. Nathan and Laura, Calixta’s mother, broke up a few weeks before Calixta was born, but Nathan has custody of Calixta, along with his two other children from his new girlfriend, Alyssa Vanmeter. I have not seen much of Calixta, Aidan, and Annemarie, as they live in Austin and rarely visit, but I love being an aunt to them. My newest niece is Benjamin’s daughter, Laurel, who lives in Virginia in an apartment near Benjamin’s college with Benjamin and his wife, Keira Westfall-Blackwood. With Benjamin living so far away, I only see Laurel on holidays, but she is a delightful little girl. Although I do not see much of my nieces and nephews, I treasure the time I do get to spend with them. Having five small children in my life has been a large help in filling the hole created by the loss of my siblings and father. I have a new joy in my life for each of the past five life-altering years.
The changes I have already mentioned were both huge, but the one I have yet to discuss is by far the most dramatic event I have seen in my entire life, let alone the past five years. The day my father was arrested for “terrorist activities” was the single-most life-altering day of my life. My mother, a Dallas Police Officer, was forced to stand and watch as her husband, an ex-Marine, was taken from the house at two in the morning by a team of FBI agents bearing firearms, pepper spray, and batons. Mom, Jace, Daniel, and I were the only people home that terrible night, and the image of Dad being taken from the house in handcuffs is one none of us will ever forget. I am sure whoever reads this has heard the story time and again, but I will briefly recount it to give my point of view. The story of my father’s arrest goes back over twenty-two years, to when my mother was pregnant for the first time. My mom has always been a pretty grouchy person when she is ill, and being pregnant with triplets was certainly no exception. Dad eventually lost his temper and left her for two weeks, spending the time with one of his ex-girlfriends, Anna Copperfield. Unbeknownst to him, Anna was a member of the terrorist group that would later murder the First Lady. Dad was, of course, shocked when he found out Anna was wanted for assassination, nine months after her baby girl, my sister Madeline, was left on the doorstep. He had no idea where she could be, so he never came forward as a former friend. When Anna was arrested four years ago, she named my father as one of the men who had assisted her in evading arrest. Dad was arrested less than two hours after the accusation was made, and he spent the next three months in prison awaiting trial. During that time, Dad was shown a list of other members of the sect, and he revealed that he had unknowingly helped one of them - another of his ex-girlfriends - to cross into Mexico. Dad was not convicted of terrorism, but he was convicted for helping a terrorist escape into Mexico, even though he had not known she was a terrorist. My father was sentenced to seven years in a maximum security prison, and I was sentenced to the belittlement of my teachers and peers. I feel terrible enough that my father was sent to prison, and now I have to deal with the distrust of the people around me. All my father did was help an old friend who was in trouble, yet I am treated as if he had been the one to put the bullet through the First Lady’s heart. My father’s being sent to prison has been the most major change in the past five years of my life.
The three most major changes in my life during the past five years have been my siblings moving out, the addition of five nieces and nephews, and my father’s arrest. I feel that all of these changes have helped me to mature more quickly than most people, even if each change has been very difficult to adjust to. I now see things much differently than most people my age, but I do not think the changes in my personality have been for the worst. I will always wish my father had never been arrested, but such a major event has helped me nearly as much as it has hurt me. In the next five years, I will go through many more changes, and I can only hope they will be less painful changes than those in the past five years.
Aidan
Annemarie
Audrey
Calixta
Laurel
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