Rylan I. Houd

Father - Lance Houd, Artist - Lance makes a living as an artist at the local Church. He's done basic things from painting murals to setting up backdrops for productions to designing flyers. Lance isn't super religious, exactly, but he's always been involved with the Church. And while working for a Church or pastor never made the most money, he always loved what he did. Rylan credits his father with getting him involved with music and performing. When his mother was working, Rylan and his sisters would often be with Lance while he was at work. Most of the time they'd be in daycare there but as they grew older, Rylan and his siblings had a chance to become more involved. Rylan started helping his father with some of the backdrops; painting them, specifically. Watching the plays from backstage, Rylan loved watching everything come together and seeing the final product. Though Rylan was always told that theater and music was a difficult business, Lance was nothing less than supportive of his son. However, being the only boy of four kids, Lance expected a lot from Rylan. He wanted Rylan to be tough and stick up for himself and to carry on the family name. As mentioned Lance isn't the most religious person ever, but he always discouraged his son from being gay or having gay thoughts. It concerns him that Rylan never brought home a nice girlfriend. So if Rylan reveals himself to be anything other than straight, the relationship with his father would be very much severed. The mere implication that him never bringing a girl around could question his sexuality, it not only makes Rylan question himself every once in a while but also (perhaps involuntarily) causes him to become squeamish at the mere thought of intimacy.

Mother - Darcy Houd, Cop - Funny how a strong, tough cop woman married a simple artist man. But opposites attracted with Darcy and Lance. While Darcy isn't religious exactly, she is quite the opinionated woman. Yes, she has an open mind and is willing to accept people for whoever they are (unless they have broken the law in which case she will never see them as anything but a criminal) but when she thinks something nothing changes her mind. Her work can call her away from the family in an emergency at times but she tries to be home whenever possible. When she's off from work Darcy will attempt to take her kids on outings such as swimming, to the mall or to play golf or tennis. While appearing a bit intimidating on the outside, it doesn't lessen how much Darcy cares about her kids and their family and tries to be the best mom she can be. After all, someone has to calm Lance down when he's being judgmental. Rylan feels much more secure in his mother's presence...though having a family of mostly girls helps with that. The fact that she also seems to have a more open mind than Lance helps, probably. If Rylan ever had a problem, his mother would be the second or third person he'd go to (the first being one of his sisters or his most trusting friends).

Sister - Brielle Lydia Houd, Waitress - Brielle is the oldest of the Houd children at twenty-four. As the oldest, Brielle felt a lot of responsibility fall on her. She had to make sure she set a good example for her younger siblings. She had to do good in school and be well-rounded. And she had to be active in the Church. She did much better when it was just her and Rylan. However as she grew older and the family got bigger, Brielle became more of a rebel. She stopped doing choir which her parents claimed she loved so much. She did worse in school. She started making questionable decisions. At one point, Rylan considered himself close with Brielle. But that changed when she dropped out of high school. She stuck with one part time job after another, not sticking to one very long, and had very unstable relationships. At twenty-one she became pregnant and her boyfriend left her the very second he found out. Brielle has since gotten her act together for her young son, Zachariah, working a steady part-time job as a waitress and earning her GED. For the time being she continues to live with her parents and siblings, though they have been trying to 'encourage' her to go to college and find a full-time job. While at times Brielle is still a bit of a rebel, some lessons from the Church has stuck with her. One lesson is that every child deserves a life; that was one of the reasons she decided to keep Zachariah even though it would mean constant struggle. There have been times she has joined anti-abortion protests, even. The other lesson is that it's a sin to be gay. That is something that has horribly hurt her relationship with Rylan; because he can be feminine at times and never seemed to show the slightest interest in girls, Brielle believes Rylan to be anything but straight. As a result, she sees him as a sinner and can't risk looking worse or going deeper into Hell than she might already have been. She keeps herself as well as her son distant from Rylan so that Zachariah can grow up with good Christian values.

Sister - Talon "Tay" Dorothea Houd, Student - Talon, also known as Tay, is fourteen and the third oldest. The smartest of the Houd kids, Talon skipped ahead a grade. While her father attributes that to being a good girl and following the Bible, Rylan has seen his sister study and work hard. Talon has always done well with balancing school, Sunday school and her extracurriculars. Tay is more active in school than Church, but maintains going every Sunday with her family, if anything because it makes them happy. She values her grades deeply and joins many after-school clubs in hopes of discovering what she wants to do with her life. While her interests have varied over the years, she's currently interested in arts and crafts; she'd been using some of Rylan's clothes as a template for practicing designs with a BeDazzler. She has been in church choir on and off since she was four and is the most active of her siblings in helping Rylan prepare for auditions, plays, etc. Her favorite class is History, as she loves hearing stories and reasons behind everything that's happened. The same holds true with her religion, though she tends to push her limits much farther there. Finding loopholes in the Bible? Her father says that's a no. While Talon maintains a few good Christian values (treat others the way you'd like to be treated, don't judge...mostly common sense values), she has much more of an open mind than the rest of her family.Though Tay and Ry don't get along all the time, they openly admit to caring about each other and always offer their support to one another. Personally, Rylan had been wanting to see Talon start at Metric since he first saw the school, knowing she was a shoo-in with her singing voice.

Sister - Hunter Eve Houd - At six years old, Hunter is the youngest of the Houd kids. She is just starting school and always finding ways to 'explore' - or as her teacher says, get in trouble. Being so young, Hunter's interests are simple. She likes the color purple, nap time, animal crackers, and mimicking her siblings. She'll make food out of Play-Dough and bug Brielle to "waitress it to everyone". She'll 'help' Talon bedazzle Rylan's clothes, though she goes to much further extremes. She'll try to copy Rylan's dance moves when he's practicing, though her hand-eye coordination causes her to break things easily. Her parents have been trying to involve her in the Church, but she shows little interest due to her short attention span. She likes it when Rylan babysits her because they can watch Disney movies together. She has a raspberry allergy.

Nephew - Zachariah Houd - Zachariah is a very loud, very colicky toddler. He was born to Rylan's sister Brielle when she was twenty-one and is a prime example of why some people should wait to have kids. He walks a little and is starting to talk a little. He likes trains, goats and Cars. Brielle refuses to let anyone call him Zac because, in her words, "if I wanted people to call him Zac I would have named him Zac" Rylan barely has a bond with his nephew because of the way Brielle looks at and thinks of him.

Rylan was born to Lance and Darcy Houd on a hot summer day in Salem. At the time he had one sibling, an older sister Brielle. Rylan's earliest memories are from the Church, either learning stories or watching his father work. When he wasn't with his parents he was spending time with Brielle, who would use him for games like Dressup or Salon. Rylan never questioned anything girlie his sister did to him because he was a baby. He pretty much grew up thinking it was normal for boys to wear dresses or to have their sister put makeup on them. However it was something Lance never approved of and, even though it was never really Rylan's fault, he was scolded every time. Lance began taking Rylan around the Church more, trying to get him involved and put him on the right path. He let Rylan help him paint sets for musicals or productions, which is where it all started.

Rylan became fascinated with the whole process and wanted to help more. It started with helping his dad paint. Then he began sitting in front of rehearsals and either cheering when he loved something or cried when he hated something. Lance tried to get Rylan to play a baby in one of the plays once; Rylan was probably around three at the time. But he wasn't ready to be in front of people. As soon as he got on stage and saw the small case watching him, he bawled like a baby. He was scolded and told to stop crying and was ultimately taken out of the play until he could handle it better. If there was a sign that Rylan was not like most 'normal' boys, that was probably the second or third sign.

Just before turning four, his family welcomed baby Talon. Rylan would help his mom watch her while she was on maternity leave, though it was mostly playing with Talon or singing her to sleep. At some point he began acting in front of her. When they would sit down to watch a Disney movie, Rylan would try to act out every scene as it was happening for his little sister. When Darcy was home from work she would watch Rylan act for his sister. Soon Lance caught wind of Rylan's talent as well and brought him back to Church to work on performing. For the next couple of years, a lot of the family's focus went onto supporting Rylan. That must have been around the time Brielle started to rebel. The Houds didn't think much of it; after all Brielle was a Church girl so surely God would show her the way. They did have Rylan and a new child to think of now, after all.

At the age of eleven, Rylan became a brother again when his parents welcomed Hunter. By that time Brielle could care less about anything and was off doing whatever. When his parents were busy Rylan watched Hunter, which was easy considering he already had practice with Talon. Rylan enjoyed being a brother and would do anything to make his sisters happy, even when they'd try to put his hair in pigtails. Rylan took a bit of a break from performing around that time to be with his sisters and focus on school as his grades were not always ideal. School was never easy for Rylan and things only got worse when he was in muddle school. It started with Halloween one year; Rylan took Talon and Hunter to a costume store up the street, just off the main road. He helped them pick out costumes and he wanted one for himself. Most years prior he'd gone as something his parents approved of - pastor, cop, artist or tiger. This year was different, as his sisters had princess-themes costumes. They wanted Rylan to match them so he decided to try on a Disney Princess costume for fun. His sisters loved it and encouraged him to buy it. When Halloween day rolled around that proved to be a mistake. Darcy and Lance were away so that made Brielle in charge; she slapped Rylan for dressing like a girl. Rylan didn't remember what happened next, but he was pretty sure Tay convinced their sister to chill or something. Rylan almost stayed in that day but his younger sisters couldn't go trick or treating by themselves so he had to go with them. And he couldn't get candy unless he was in costume so he stayed a princess, much to the dismay of Brielle. But hey, she wasn't going to take them so who else would? That was when the teasing started. He got called a few names while out trick or treating and it followed him back to school. It didn't help that his father let him have it when he and Darcy returned. Lance insisted that no son of his would be gay and that he had to make sure to carry on the family name.

When the teasing at school continued for various reasons, Rylan looked for an escape. He didn't want to dance, act, perform or have anything to do with any of the productions at Church. One day he was watching Disney Channel - a thing he often did in his spare time - and ended up watching High School Musical. He found himself completely invested in the characters and their stories. He must have watched it over and over again for at least five times in a row. He was able to find the motivation and courage to get back into performing. He auditioned for any play or musical at school, in the Church or in the community and helped backstage in any way he could. He became completely invested in it. Though the teasing at school didn't stop, Rylan finally stopped letting it hold him back from performing. When it came time for his middle school graduation, Talon told him about Metric; she had been doing research online in attempt to find the next musical for Ry to take part in and came across the school's amazing drama program for high schoolers and college students. They attempted to talk their parents into letting Rylan attend, or at least audition. The action was denied, as the school was too expensive. It didn't help that Brielle was going to deep end at the time so much of the focus was attempting (and failing) to keep her on track. Rylan conceded and attended regular high school. His first year sucked. Between still being called out on for wearing a princess costume the Halloween before, occasionally wearing bedazzled clothes (still courtesy of his sisters) and being active in the theater, the horrible queer names started. Rylan was about to bring the subject of Metric up to his parents again only to find out that Brielle was pregnant. It was a major shame and disappointment to the family but they had no choice to be supportive. After all what kind of family would they be for disowning their daughter when she had no one else, even though Rylan felt so belittled by them in the past? Clearly whatever Brielle was going through was more important. Rylan offered to help Brielle in any way she needed as well but by that time the damage was done. For whatever reason - Rylan ultimately thinks it's because she wholeheartedly believes he is gay - Brielle tries to keep her son and brother separate. 

Rylan tried to distance himself from home and did everything he could to focus on performing even though it meant his grades took a fall. Eventually Darcy realized this and she and Talon took Rylan to audition for Metric. Rylan worked his butt off to make sure he'd get in. He did a monologue from a Disney movie. He danced and sung to a medley of songs from High School Musical. He was awarded a small scholarship and was told he could begin his junior year at Metric. While his family lives about twenty minutes or so away from the campus, his mother suggested that living on campus would be good for Rylan. It made him nervous, but with his mom being a cop and all he knew he could call her at any sign of trouble. And it gave him distance from anyone who bullied him at his old school, though Rylan once in a while worries he will run into them around Salem. His family still asks to babysit Hunter once in a while. Rylan has next to no contact with Brielle and he continues to join the family at Church to please Lance, even though Rylan doesn't believe everything he's told there. He just wants to grow into the best performer and Rylan he can possibly be.

Rylan adjusted to Metric pretty well, in part to his suitemade and Sharpay, Shyanne Volle. When he first met her he was nervous and a little shy, though they quickly bonded over their love of theater and High School Musical. As Rylan doesn't like to argue of purposefully cause drama, he must have said all the right things to Shyanne for her to allow him to become her Ryan so easily. However since hanging out with her, Rylan hasn't exactly come out of his shell in a positive way. He can be snappy or a little rude towards others, especially if Shyanne has a problem with someone. He does his best to keep that side of him separate from how any of his family members see him and has done decently enough since Talon started at Metric. But there's still time for all that to change.

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®If you ask Rylan almost anything about High School Musical, he'll probably know the answer.
®Rylan's sense of femininity is mainly attributed to him growing up with three sisters. Also there's Shyanne.
®Rylan's entire family thought the youngest siblings would be boys, hence the names Talon and Hunter.
®Growing up watching Disney with his siblings, he has grown quite a liking to the movies, shows, etc. Rylan would love to be part of a Disney musical one day.
®Rylan doesn't like being labeled. Because he is a dancer and has many pink and bedazzled outfits he has been accused throughout school of being gay. If Rylan had to have a label, it would probably be Confused. He doesn't like being told what he is nor has he ever had an attraction towards anyone. This may also be why he distances himself from the Church at times, because of how people who are gay or in the LGBT community are insulted. He is afraid that being labeled as anything other than straight is a bad thing.
®Rylan's and his family's names are based off of character names from the High School Musical franchise. Lance and Darcy = Vance and Derby Evans; Brielle = Gabriella Montez; Rylan = Ryan Evans; Talon "Tay" = Taylor McKessie; Hunter = Corbin Bleu's sister Hunter; Zachariah = Zac Efron. The only one unmentioned is Sharpay Evans, sort of already occupied by Shyanne Volle.
®He idolizes Ashley Tisdale. She is most likely who he listens to on his iPod most other than High School Musical. While he has numerous other Disney songs on his iPod and a few songs from other DCOMs, none o them can hold a candle to the HSM series.
®While it appears that Rylan lives large, the home his family lives in is mostly due to his father's association with the church. It does, however, work in Rylan's favor though as his room is on the opposite side of everyone else's. Being the only boy in a family of sisters means his own space and his own bathroom!

Music
®High School Musical
®Ashley Tisdale
®American Idol
®DisneyMania
®Disney