CASEY MUNCH
(CC)
“You’re going to have to learn how to use these powers responsibly. Use them only for good and to help and heal. Don’t use powers just for fun or treat them like they’re toys. Power like this is very serious, so take it very seriously,“ CC stressed.
CC was reading a hardcover book titled “The United States of Inequality” while sipping coffee from a blue mug, with a pictured baby seal, from the Save the Seals Society. He was wearing a green T-shirt he bought on a thrift store trip he snuck in while we were in school.
I glanced around the room at the towers of files stacked high on CC’s desk and chairs. CC ended his call and I commented on the number of files as he moved them from the chairs to the floor so the three of us could sit down. “I’ve been backed up on work for months. My children keep me very busy,” he said with a wry smile, nodding at us to sit.
CC rolled his eyes and shook his head. ”It’s going to be a long day,” he sighed. He looked out the window and immediately brightened. “Why don’t you go outside and play? It’s going to be a nice autumn day. And rake some leaves while you’re out there.”
Ryan moved to ask a question. “Can we use…”
“No,” CC responded before he could finish.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Ryan complained.
“I do know, Ryan. The same thing you always ask. Can we use magic?” CC replied. “And my answer is always the same. No.”
CC took Ryan by the shoulders and directed him to the kitchen, pointing at the back door. “Go. Go play. All of you. Please. Have fun. I need to get some work done.”
Casey Munch, or as his children affectionately call him, CC, is the Munch children’s adoptive father. He is an activist who, before adopting his children, traveled the world with his wife, Erin, doing social justice work. Casey believes housing should be a human right, so when he inherited a large fortune from his father, he created a nonprofit to provide free housing to people all over the world. He and Erin wanted to adopt children together, but then Erin died, and Casey was lonely and heartbroken. He continued to travel and devote his time to helping people and animals, but that ended the second he adopted his children. From that point on, his life became dedicated to caring for thirteen kids single-handedly and keeping their powers a closely guarded secret.
Casey is often overwhelmed and stressed, but he is a loving father and highly protective of his children. He can be strict and authoritative, but also nurturing and affectionate at the same time. Casey likes routines, structure, and rules because it brings some order to all the chaos in his life, so he is fond of lists, chore charts, and family meetings. He runs his nonprofit remotely from his home office, and gives his children the freedom to play independently, but within defined boundaries. He is also wise, perceptive, and knows right away when his children are hiding something.
Casey has firm rules and restrictions on when his children are allowed to use their powers, and he prohibits them from using them at all if there’s any possibility of them being seen. He understands the grave danger his children would be in if the public found out about their powers, and he keeps his kids largely sheltered and limits contact with the outside world because of this. At the same time though, he worries about them becoming too isolated, so he encourages them to interact with other kids. Casey’s life is ruled by safeguarding his children and ensuring other people don’t discover their extraordinary anomalies. He views his kids’ powers as more of a curse than a gift because of the severe restrictions they place on him and his children, and he laments that his children will never be able to grow into adulthood and live normal lives. He takes his role as their sole parent and protector very seriously, and there is nothing he won’t do to keep his children safe.