#you end up with kids/teens that are paranoid that everyone over the age of 18 is out to get them

[fabulouslygaybean]

maybe it's just cus i grew up with close family that were significantly older than me (older siblings who are 14+ years older than me, cousins triple my age, etc), but y'all really need to step back and realize that viewing any/all casual or friendly interactions between teens and adults as unsafe or predatory doesn't help anyone. it's one thing to have a preference for who you personally interact with (especially if you're 18+ and have an explicit blog/account/whatever), but acting like nobody should interact with anyone outside their age group both in person and offline is incredibly stupid.

[thestalkerbunny]

Well, this is it, I finally did it. Behold. My Tiefling Druid Marigold’s 8 OTHER BROTHERS. In game I think she has mentioned she has older brothers-but I don’t think she’s fully mentioned she has 8 brothers all together

Most of the brood is only a year or so apart with the exception of Cedar who isn’t 18 quite yet and Rowan who is still a little LAD. I’m not sure where Marigold lands in the order of the brothers yet.

The entire brood is known as ‘The Hateful 8′ locally as all of them strongly dislike the local Druids under their father’s strong influence (as well as usually if there’s a fight in town, one of the Blackcoat boys started it or they’re going to END it.) They all work for their Father’s Sawmill Business as Lumberjacks and take great pride in their work.

And if you think having a clan this large is impossible for just two people to do-as a person whose mother is actually from a family who had 9 brothers and sisters growing up-it is indeed VERY POSSIBLE. And it makes for very crowded family gatherings.

Read more below for a little bit about each brother

Hickory is the oldest; He and Elm look exactly like their father. He's not that outgoing,  mainly because as a child he was frequently bullied by other kids his age not just for being one of the only tiefling in town-but because he developed a skin condition called 'Sectorial Vitiligo' that made his skin two very constrasting colors and has expanded over the years. Although he doesn't get bullied about it much anymore-he does tend to try and cover it up as he puts it 'is not a Penny Circus to be gawked at.' Hickory basically does his dad proud by being the model woodsman just like his old man and sharing a strong distaste for Druids like him as well.  Hickory wood is used primarily as kindling in curing meats and making Bows.

Elm is Hickory's Twin, younger by a few minutes, although Elm is the one who was the more aggressive and was the one who for most of their childhood chasing away anyone who tried to harass Hickory. Elm doesn't say much of anything. Ever. And is regarded as one of the creepiest of the BlackCoat Brood-just as he is very vocally quiet, he is very good at sneaking up on people and scaring them. He rarely smiles and when he does it's unsettling. Ironically, out of the brood, Elm is the most popular with the local women in town and people unjokingly refer to him as a casanova. Elm Wood is primarily used in the making of Coffins.

Oakley is the Third sibling and rather pessimistic. He's the kind of the guy in the bar who frequently looks for someone to debate with and argue with-even if he doesn't even believe what he's arguing about. However when he's right-Oakley is RIGHT and he will make sure you know it and everyone in TOWN knows that he's right and YOU'RE WRONG. He makes model boats in bottles as a hobby and is well known for having a bit of a temper when his personal time is disrupted. Oak trees are primarily used in construction-mainly in the building of boats and furniture

Maple is the Fourth Sibling-and he is noted to look more like Mother Blackcoat. While Oakley always looks for a fight and is grumpy-Maple is friendly and a social butterfly. Most people find it hard to believe Maple is even related in anyway to the three siblings previously mentioned. He's much more popular with people and is basically the brother who has to go knock on the door when their baseball goes into a stranger's backyard because Maple just has the people skills and the CHARISMA. Maple trees are best known for producing the ever iconic Maple Syrup

Spruce is the most 'intellectual' of the brood and although he is content with the Lumberjack lifestyle, he has committed himself to at least being a very well read one and applying to mail in collages and schools to become a scholar. His tail often drags on the floor because as a child there was an accident where his tail was crushed by a fallen tree and the nerve damage was bad enough for the end of it to be sort of.....floppy. He often keeps it tucked in his belt loop or simply holds it close to himself so nobody steps on it. Spruce is the tree that is frequently used in Pulp to produce paper.

Dogwood-also known as Puppy-is the shivery timid brother, much like a chihuahua. With 4 out of 5 older brothers being rather other bearing and their idea of bonding is just impromptu fighting and wrestling, you can imagine why Puppy is skittish. Puppy is a bit paranoid about injuries and especially since the increase of lumber mill accidents occurring of late-which the paranoia does pay off and make being a medic a useful skill for him. Dogwood is traditionally used in medicine to ward off fevers, treat wounds and even soothe menstrual cramps and repair nerve damage-although there's no strong scientific proof behind it.

Cedar is the often disgruntled teen of the brood. On the cusp of adulthood but trapped in Teendom in a family with 6 older brothers to live up to; Cedar is voted most likely to buy tickets to an MCR concert and unironically like Hot Topic. He's at the unfortunate age where he feels like the whole world is against him and everyone is out to get him and nobody understands him. Cedar often felt like Marigold was the only one who really understood him and she ran away from home with no notice and Cedar feels rather betrayed and abandoned by that act.  Cedar is prominently used in making furniture and is noted for it's pleasant smell.

Rowan the youngest of the massive brood and the baby of the bunch-being the littlest means he often gets away with whatever he wants. But he fortunately doesn't really abuse this power. He does often try to tag along after his brothers in an attempt to be included only to be aggressively sent home as he's not old enough to come to work with them. Rowan was a very sickly baby and there was some concern when he was much smaller that he wouldn't live or be able to walk. He still exhausts rather quickly, but he's been trying to build up his endurance to keep up with the rest of the pack.  Rowan is used to carve walking sticks and tool handles.

[the-twin-trollhunters]

it’s been literal ages since i’ve actively DONE anything with this blog but i really wanna get back into developing this au since i love it a lot,, even if “developing” is more just. writing scattered drabbles and snippits instead of writing through it chronologically so...

if you have questions or prompt ideas or cool thoughts about any particular era, please do let me know, i love talking about this crossover! 

the 5 eras of this crossover:

Era 1: (August 1967- June 1968) Glass Shard Beach/Quartz Shard Cove Era 2: (1968-1982) Stan in Trollmarket/Ford’s research years Era 3: (1982-2012) Wilderness Years Era 4: (2012-2016) Summer 2012 and beyond Era 5: (Spring 2016~) The new trollhunters

(a ton more rando ideas under the cut)

Era 1: (August 1967- June 1968) Glass Shard Beach/Quartz Shard Cove

Big ideas: -Stan finds amulet, discovers underground civilization of trolls alongside Ford -Helps protect Quartz Shard Cove, the troll city below them, over the course of senior year -Major foes are Korsiva (a disgraced ex-general of Gunmar who’s been in hibernation for years) and an east coast branch of the Janus Order -Stan and Ford’s baby nephew (son of their big brother Shermie), Alexander, gets swapped out for a changeling. Chaos ensues. -Carla- Stan’s best friend- is brought into the fold/fights alongside the twins. -That time they recovered a single piece of the Killahead that was unguarded- they learn the changelings are trying to rebuilt it early in this AU. The piece is stowed away for safekeeping in Trollmarket, deep in the catacombs.  -Over time there’s found family themes with Alex the changeling, and he ends up defecting from the Janus Order entirely.. after experiencing all the horror of the Darklands, he just wants the chance to live a good and honest life. Through ancient magic, he finds a way to wipe the evidence of his existence from the Order. -Blinky and Aaarrrgghh pretty much slam adopt on all of these humans. -Stan and Ford’s relationship becomes more and more strained as the year goes on because Stan keeps pushing him away (thinking he’s protecting him by doing so)

Era 2: (1968-1982) Stan in Trollmarket/Ford’s research years

Big ideas: -After Stan is kicked out, he moves with Blinky and Aaarrrgghh back to Trollmarket. -Ford, to college. -Stan becomes really close with Draal during this time. -A lot of Stan’s work during this time is working to maintain peace in the troll world with the continuing threat of Killahead bridge being knowingly rebuilt, and trying to figure out WHERE the bridge pieces are being stored. (Currently it’s being hidden in a place far away from Arcadia.) -Ford still goes to Gravity Falls to research the strange and bizzare, and the Bill Cipher stuff still happens, except in this AU the Nightmare Realm and the Darklands are the same place, just this interdimensional dumping ground that Bill and Gunmar are both trapped within. They’re pretty much both competing to see who can get out first.  -Stan sent to go investigate the going-ons in Gravity Falls bc the trolls sensed an open portal to the Darklands there. He’s pissed and confused to realize it was his brother’s doing. -Ford gets sucked through the portal, along with Stan’s amulet.

Era 3: (1982-2012) Wilderness Years

Big ideas:  -The troll Tribunal forbids Stan from setting foot in any troll settlement in punishment for losing the amulet to Gunmar’s clutches. They’re essentially without a trollhunter for these 30 years. -Stan realizes the truth about Ford, that he was manipulated by an ancient eldritch being. Now feeling insanely guilty for leaving him to the whims of something like that, he begins to rebuild the thrashed portal. It may be ultimate treason to the trollkind he once swore to protect, but his family is forever more important to him than law. -Ford, meanwhile, discovers a shocking fact- the amulet calls his name too, and he can wield the armor and Daylight as well. He travels the multiverse for 30 years, learning more about the amulet and what it means to be a trollhunter along the way... crossing into dimensions where other trollhunters exist, gathering stones to use in it, gaining proficiency at fighting... -Alex- or as he comes to call himself, Lex- grows up, moves to California, falls in love with a human woman, and to his great surprise they’re able to have kids- twins. As far as he knows at that point, they’re essentially fully human- but they all know about his changeling nature. -They raise their kids in Arcadia. Occasionally, Lex does reconnaissance work for the trolls- Blinky and Vendel specifically.

Era 4: (2012-2016) Summer 2012 and beyond

Big ideas: -Lex sends his kids to GF for the summer for Stan to watch, paranoid that the Janus Order discovered what he did to their records and found him again  -Much of the summer is spent trying to uncover their Grunkle’s hidden past (he’s kept all the trollhunting stuff on the down low from family as a result of his disgrace from troll society. only lex knows the full story.) and what’s up with this mysterious journal in the woods. -The journal is p much the same except it has a toooon of troll stuff in it too. Ford’s a nerd. -Wendy is a changeling. Originally she was stationed in Gravity Falls to keep an eye on Stan and make sure he’s not up to no good, but she’s never actually gotten the chance to sneak into his basement to see what he’s working on. His security is too top-notch. When she’s finally a teen in human years she gets a job in the shack so she can get closer to him.  -Honestly I think she also flips. Just, all the changelings eventually flip when they see how great found family and friendships and anything that’s not Gunmar is, okay? XDD -Fiddleford isn’t actually entirely insane- but he’s still not all mentally there. Long story. He lives with his son and actually wears clothes most of the time. -Yknow I’m pretty sure Dipper and Mabel prob catch Wendy shifting between forms and that’s how they esp bond -Also let’s be real the two of them definitely end up exploring the troll civilization under Gravity Falls -the Wham moment where Ford walks out of the portal wearing the Armor of Daylight and everyone’s like :O OOO two trollhunters!!! ! -Weirdmageddon’s weirdness wave activates long dormant changeling genes for Dipper and Mabel, and they shift into troll forms. They’re a unique case of changeling because they are their own familiars. -Post 2012, the full story of what happened with the amulet becomes known to trollkind, and Stan’s ban from underground is lifted. He and Ford together continue trollhunting business, and they’re still a force to be reckoned with, even with their age. -In early 2016, the amulet leaves Stan and Ford, and stops responding to them both. The assumption made is that it senses the two of them are unable to carry out their duty anymore at their age, and has made the choice to move on. (normally a trollhunter just... would die long before they grew old enough for this to be a problem, so...)

Era 5: (Spring 2016~) The new trollhunters

-Dipper and Mabel are both 18, in senior year. They are fully able to shift between forms at whim by now. -Amulet picks Jim. A lot of broad canon strokes remain the same, but the trolls already are aware of the changelings still existing, and of the Killahead bridge’s threat- and have made the appropriate precautions. Tbh I still need to develop more logical divergences this new canon would make in what happens. -But I do know for sure that the changelings have to infiltrate Trollmarket to steal the stone Stan retrieved LOOONG ago in 1968 to even open the Killahead bridge at all.   -And I think Bular’s been out and about for some time trying to sniff out where this piece was being kept. His hunt has only recently brought him back to Arcadia. -Dipper and Mabel accidentally out themselves to Bular during the equivalent of the ep Young Atlas as they try to rescue Jim. This also outs the fact that ONE of their parents must be a changeling to the Janus Order.  -There is a Kidnapping that occurs,,, as Strickler is trying to pry info on where the last piece is from Lex, using Dip and Mab as collateral. Strickler gets the info he wants, sigh. -Through the battle of Killahead that eventually ensues, both Nomura AND Lex are sucked through into the Darklands. Not only does everyone want to rescue Claire’s baby brother, but they want to rescue Lex too. (There’s also some interesting ethics on whether or not they should rescue the REAL baby Alexander Pines afforded the opportunity, too. I’m still not sure if they do or not.) -When Jim goes into the Darklands, Stan and Ford return from their sailing expedition to keep the peace as best they can in Trollmarket/Arcadia. Sans amulet, of course, bc it won’t respond to them anymore but.. it’s something. -They’re there for the remainder of “S2-3.” -Ford ends up trying to defend Jim at the tribunal, but despite his eloquence still fails to convince them of anything. -When the Merlin quest happens, Dipper and Mabel are there as well. They can’t shift forms because of the magic ban, but their addition is enough to help fight off/kill Angor Rot and save Draal. -Ford knows from his journeys through the multiverse what Merlin aims to do (he’s met a future half-troll version of Jim, he Suspects) and is Against It. They fight alone at one point. -Battle stuff... Except the battle goes Fucking Wrong because of some key elements (no Angor Rot to blindside Morgana) and it ends up with the eternal night becoming permanent and some hellish frickin stuff, Morgana murders Merlin, she reconstitutes the shattered fragments of Bill Cipher within Stan’s mind (those two have History and that’s literally a whole nother Story please do ask me about it) and whisks him away in seconds to GF to go break Bill’s full essence free from his stone prison because she wants to p much steal his power for herself. -Ford found a sort of special amulet stone whilst in the multiverse that he’s been keeping all this time in case of emergencies... it allows the bearer to jump backwards in time, but only once. Only thing is, it’s also. in Gravity Falls. Kept safe in Fiddleford’s mansion. -Claire jumps them to GF via shadow staff. -Jim gets the stone and is able to use it like, just before they pretty much all die. He jumps back to RIGHT when Merlin wakes up in the tomb. -He realizes that the only real way he can stop all of this from going to hell completely is by making sure that all the shards of Bill in Stan’s mind are well and truly destroyed forever... and so they do just that. It’s a big dramatic mind demon eternal exorcism, a family/friends effort.

-there’s probably more but I’ve literally been rambling on like a noob. that’s pretty much the highlights. please do ask me questions about events/character relationships/places/timeline stuff/etc etc etc i would love to see them!

[winterequinoxx]

The Lost Eschaton

Ok, since I decided to start posting actively on here, I wanted to share an original short fic that I wrote a few years ago. Totally unbetad. Can't even remember why I wrote it in the first place, I think it was a prompt challenge?

Here ya go:

There is junk everywhere. Stacks of outdated newspapers lean against a tower of decaying photo albums. Are those….Yes. All of her old high school trophies were underneath the window, behind the pile of winter coats. Broken electronics are scattered across whatever empty floor space they landed on. 

“How did it get this bad, Martin? I can’t...he was never like this before Mom died…”

Tiffany stands in the kitchen, peering over the bar at the war zone that her childhood living room had turned into. When she had agreed to help her brother clear out the house after moving their father into a nursing home, she imagined reminiscing with him over the good times they had in the house, perhaps crying over a forgotten piece of jewelry that her mother had left behind, definitely getting drunk at the end of the day, but she is beginning to think that the bottle of whiskey that she had stashed in the trunk of her car was going to need to be cracked open before she could even process the amount of work that needed to be done. Her brother has planned ahead though, benefits of living five minutes away from Dad instead of five hours, he knew what he was walking into and was on his second beer. It was nine in the morning. 

“Yeah….this all started about three--no wait, Sarah had just gotten pregnant with Jenny---so yeah, four years ago? He was so worried that people were listening in on him or something. Paranoid sonovabitch. You invent one superlaser and you start to think everyone’s out to get ya.”

Martin’s laugh is a tight, forced thing, as if even the air didn’t want him to kid himself anymore. His normally perfectly styled hair and pressed clothes are nowhere to be seen, exchanged for heavy bags under his eyes and paint splattered t-shirt and shorts. Tiffany couldn’t help but grin when she eyed the bright pink and purple flecks. Hazards of having two daughters under the age of eight. Pastels everywhere.

“Speaking of, where is the rest of the brood? We are going to need more backup. Any chance you can call in some of your Marine buddies. OH! How about Jason? Jason’s hot. He seeing anyone?” Tiffany grins over her shoulder as she starts putting the large moving boxes together, she can at least start shoving appliances from the kitchen out of the way.

“Jason is very happy with his new boyfriend. Stop hitting on him. Sarah and the kids will be by later after the fairy princesses have their naps, but Trent should be here any minute. He just got his Driver's license. Be appropriately impressed.” No sooner had he said it than Tiffany hears a car door slam in the driveway. Her adopted nephew shuffles into the house, gives a cursory glance around at the chaos that was the living area, and seems to deflate.

“Hey Trent, why don’t you help me in the garage. That’s where dad kept the heavy stuff, and I’d rather get going on that before the sun gets much higher and we roast in that tin death trap.” Martin finished off his beer and snags the teen by the shoulder, shouting back at his little sister “Don’t let anything in there bite you. You know how Dad liked to tinker!”

Tiffany cleans for hours. It gets moderately better when her sister-in-law and nieces show up, but if there is one thing that those two little ones did not like, it was getting dirty. To forestall the screaming fit that would erupt if a speck of anything tarnished their princess dresses, Sarah set the seven and three year olds up at the kitchen table with coloring books and a tablet streaming kid-friendly YouTube. Martin and Trent make quick work of the garage, arranging for a local scrap yard to collect some of the larger items before they return to the blissful relief of the air conditioning. With the house in a much more manageable state, the three adults and one teenager decide to tackle one last area.

The Basement.

Tiffany and Martin stand in front of the door. It is unlocked. It has always been unlocked. But Tiffany has never set foot on the staircase before. The Basement was Dad’s Space: Do Not Enter, By Royal Decree, Under Pain of Grounding. 

“Ok, brother mine, go ahead. You know what’s down there, right? We gonna need to have Trent haul old computers out on his back?”

Martin slowly turned  his head, looking at her as if she had suddenly sprouted whiskers, a tail and called herself Lassie. “The Hell you talking about? I’ve never been down there. I didn’t have a death wish.” 

“You two are ridiculous” Sarah shoves her tiny frame between the siblings and opens the door, feeling along the wall for a lightswitch.

It isn’t necessary. 

As soon as the door opens, lights begin to flicker, a generator hums to life, and metal shutters slam down covering every exterior window and door. 

BIOMETRICS UNIDENTIFIED. SYSTEM LOCKDOWN INITIATED. STATE IDENTITY.

The voice that echoes out of the walls of the house was definitely their father, but much younger. Tiffany remembers that voice reading her bedtime stories when she was Jenny’s age. It shouldn’t be yelling like this.

STATE IDENTITY. INTRUDERS WILL BE TERMINATED. 45 SECONDS.

“WHOA! DAD! Um...It’s Martin...the person who opened the door is my wife Sarah…”

MARTIN: VOICE PRINT CONFIRMED. SARAH: IDENTITY VERIFIED. FOUR MORE INDIVIDUALS IN THE BUILDING

“SHIT! DAD, Don’t shoot. It’s me, Tiffany. The other three are the kids, Trent,  Maria and Jenny. DO NOT TERMINATE ANYONE!”

TIFFANY: VOICE PRINT CONFIRMED. BIOMETRICS CONFIRM CHILDREN IN THE HOME. TERMINATION SEQUENCE CANCELLED. PLEASE ENTER THE WORKSPACE

“Oh, hell no. Nope. Not gonna happen. You two have fun going down into deathville. I’m taking the kid and we are going to sit and watch videos with the girls. You can deal with whatever craziness your father dreamt up.” Suiting actions to words, Sarah stomps down the hall, dragging a wide-eyed Trent with her. Tiffany and Martin peer down the narrow stairs. Only room to go down single file. An intense battle of rock-paper-scissors breaks out, with Tiffany coming out the loser. 

“Big bad Marine sends his baby sister to her death. I can see the headlines now.”

“Shut up, you won’t die. Dad liked you better anyway.”

At the base of the stairs is one of the most elaborate computer systems Tiffany has seen outside of NASA. Security cameras show the exterior of the house, and a couple of warehouses and storage rooms that have even more sensitive equipment set up.  On one screen, there is a countdown. 3 days, 7 hours, 56 minutes, 18 seconds.  Right in the center of the console was a simple VCR, with a post-it note that said “Play Me”. Tiffany elbows Martin, and he reaches forward to hit the play button. The center screen comes to life. 

Their father is sitting in his recliner, holding his glasses in one hand, a bottle of scotch on the end table next to him as he rubs at his eyes. With a deep breath, he looks into the camera.

I’m sorry kids. I’m so damned sorry. If you’re watching this it’s because the toxin got to me, and I’m no longer with you to explain. Your mother’s death was not natural. We had been working together to contain an airborne contagion that was manufactured by accident. By Our people. Our government covered it up, said that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Making fools of ourselves, overreacting. You know how it goes.

He paused to take a long swig out of the bottle at his side.

 We were the last hope and we failed. I got so close, so close to fixing it and then my samples were stolen right before we found out about little Jenny. I’ve been working backwards ever since. I wish I could say that everything is ready to go. That all you have to do is call General Whats-his-face and you could save the world. But I can’t. I can’t. I don’t know how far the damage will reach, but there are enough supplies in the basement here that you can survive for about three months. God I hope you brought the little ones with you. If the lockdown was triggered, it won’t lift for three months. By then you should be able to survive whatever diluted toxin is left. And whatever is left of humanity by the end of all this. 

With a last swallow of scotch and tears running down his face, their father reached forward and turned off the camera. Tiffany’s eyes are drawn to the countdown again, finally reading the heading:

PROJECT ESCHATON GOES LIVE

3 d: 7 h: 50 m: 20 s

[devilsknotrp]

Congratulations, Riley! You have been accepted for the role of Pete Silverman (FC: Harris Dickinson). Pete is a central member of the plot, and we were concerned in trying to find a writer who could balance his romanticism, good nature, genuine kindness, and latent fear, in a way that was sensitive to the trauma he’s faced. You gave us that and more. There were so many elements of your application that made us sit up and take notice. What’s really interesting is Pete’s feeling of repetition. He was a part of such a terrible mystery, albeit when he was a child. How will he deal with the current events? What does that mean for his development? You’ve started him so well; we can’t wait to see how he’s written from here on out. Please have a look at this page prior to sending in your account.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name: Riley Age: Over eighteen Pronouns: he/him Timezone: GMT Activity estimation: I try to be as active as possible. I work in complaints for a major company so depending how my case load is will depend how many replies I can get done during the days I’m working, but I also have days off when I can write. I try and reply within a couple of days and keep regular track of the dash, but due to my working hours I’d estimate the bulk of my activity would be during the later half of the week, Thu-Sun. Triggers: [Redacted]

IN CHARACTER

Full name: Peter Thomas Silverman Age (08/06/1978): 18 years old Gender: Cisgender Male Pronouns: he/him Sexuality: Questioning Occupation: Student Connection to Victim: Pete goes to high school with Brian’s older siblings and the case shares similarities with his own kidnapping years prior which means he has a vested (and uncomfortable) connection to the case. Alibi: ‘Walking. Just walking.’

‘Walking where?’ they ask him.

‘Nowhere in particular,’ he answers quietly, almost as if he’s ashamed or embarrassed, but he’s not. It’s just a fact.

‘That could mean a lot of things.’

‘Yeah,’ Pete shrugs, not dismissively, but as if to acknowledge the question; what more can he say?

‘Was anyone with you?’

Pete shakes his head. ‘Just me and my dog.’ He’s quiet for a moment. But then, he’s always quiet. ‘I don’t really like sports, but just walking around and listening to music… it relaxes me. Helps me forget about stuff.’

If you were a cynic, you might see it as a subtle manipulation, an attempt to play the victim, but anyone who’s really familiar with Pete knows it isn’t what he wants in life. He just wants to live it. Still, they can’t help but remember his past now that Brian has gone missing. There’s the simple scratching of a pen and the usual understanding, polite smile. Nobody really suspects the kid anyway. They’re just asking ‘cause they have to.

‘It’s okay son. I doubt we’ll need anything from ya. Just take care of yourself, okay?’

Faceclaim: In order of preference, Harris Dickinson, Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Ansel Elgort

WRITING SAMPLE

His mom wasn’t home when Pete got back from school, but to be honest, he didn’t expect her to be. She was working later and later. The paranoid part of him wondered if she was deliberately avoiding him anyway, avoiding talking to him or asking him how he’s feeling after what happened (or might have happened) to Brian. Then the cynic in him realized she probably didn’t really care enough to avoid him. She was just busy working. It had been a couple of years since Pete had really bothered trying to get her attention.

“Hey boy,” he greeted in a soft tone as Billie padded over to him. He bent down, pulling back the padded headphones that played one of his Smashing Pumpkins cassettes to scratch the dog behind the ears. He left his backpack and jacket hanging on the back of the dining chair, and made sure the water and food bowl were full. A chewed up tennis ball was lying on the floor, and he gave a little whistle before picking it up and bouncing it down the hallway so Billie could chase it and bring it back to him, and then he let him out in the back yard.

God, he was so freaking glad it was a Friday. But he was equally apprehensive about it. Tomorrow would mark one week since Brian had disappeared. He recognized the looks in people’s eyes when they spoke to David or Beth. He’d been on the receiving end way too many times. How weird was it to feel like he was the one giving those looks out? He’d also seen that look creep back into people’s eyes when they looked at him over the course of the week. He knew what they were thinking, because he was thinking the same thing.

It’s happening again.

Pete told himself it had to be something else, something completely unrelated to his father or to Max Acosta or to him. It sucked, but sometimes kids disappeared. That didn’t mean they were all linked… right? He didn’t wanna think about this stuff, and he especially didn’t wanna have the nightmares again. They’d been back all week long. He kept insisting everything was fine, but damn, he must have looked even more pale and skinny and exhausted than usual.

The little light flashed red on the answering machine, and he pulled a bottle of Diet Coke out of the fridge as he hit play. A message from Karen Shah’s receptionist telling him they could fit him in tomorrow if he wanted, could he call them before 10 tomorrow morning to confirm? Pete sighed. The next message was for his mom.

He shook his head, almost pulling his headphones back up. Mostly out of habit, out of defence. He held off for a few minutes though, wandering into the garden to call Billie back over. The dog was always grateful for the attention, and Pete was always grateful for the distraction. After a few minutes playing with tennis balls and sticks, he took Billie back inside to grab his leash. He hovered by the phone again, just for a few moments, and then he dialled.

The phone rang a few times before the voice at the other end answered. “Hey,” he said, keeping his voice as upbeat and casual as possible. “It’s Pete. I’m about to take the dog out for like an hour, but are you doing anything tonight? We can catch a movie or hit the diner or something.”

ANYTHING ELSE?

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rileyliamm/pete-silverman/

Of course, gender presentation is no real indication of sexuality or gender identity, but Pete has never been what people would dub a ‘manly man’. He doesn’t buy into macho bullshit. He just is. He’s sensitive, scribbling song lyrics in notebooks and the margins of his text books, being in touch with his feelings largely because he doesn’t have a choice. He seems to feel everything intensely whether he wants to or not.

Pete is creative and kind, he’s friendly but quiet. He loves his sister more than anything or anyone in the world and since he was raised by her and raised without a father figure, he’s in touch with what people would dub his feminine side. Dating and relationships aren’t something that are currently of particularly high value to him, especially recently with the disappearance of Brian. He’s always said he just needs to focus on himself.

The occasional crush here and there, a little casual high school dalliance, dancing with someone at prom and homecoming, but Pete has never really gone all-in. Romantic and sexual feelings are the exception to his usually intense feelings. He values friendship, family (mainly Mary), music and creativity. He’s never really talked about or acknowledged his attraction to men or masculine presenting people, even with his therapist.

Yeah, he goes to therapy. Well, on and off. He seemed to go all the time when he was little. He never really understood why, at least not for a few years. He knew his dad was gone, but couldn’t really remember all the details until it started coming back in dribs and drabs since his early teen years. People tried to protect him. They treated him like glass. But Pete never quite broke… He just chipped a little. He would just go, talk, draw pictures, do jigsaw puzzles, listen to music. The visits became less frequent further down the line, once a week, once every two weeks, a phone call once a month and then maybe not at all for a couple of years. When his nightmares are at their worst, he sometimes went more often, sometimes less often, but often he didn’t really want to talk anyway. What he was feeling wasn’t something a good walk and a pair of headphones couldn’t fix, at least so he told himself.

Pete has an affinity for animals, particularly dogs. They don’t ask awkward questions or give you those weird looks like they’re worrying about you. The general public in town don’t do that anymore either -  at least not until recently  - but they did, for years. He has a brown and white American Staffordshire Terrier called Billie (after Billie Joe Armstrong) who he found injured and caught in a trap on one of his walks a few years ago. He nursed him back to health and in spite of his mother’s protests, was allowed to keep him (so long as he was properly trained and, for the love of God, house-trained). Having a dog is a good excuse to go walking. People don’t look at you weird when you take your dog out for a few hours. And it’s nice to have some company that doesn’t expect anything of him.

Everyone knows Pete loves music, but he can’t perform it worth a damn. The idea of being on a stage in front of people with all eyes on him? No thanks. He likes writing though. When people ask him what he wants to do with his life, Pete isn’t really sure. Maybe writing for some kind of music magazine? After all the stuff he’s read in newspapers over the years though about him and his father, the idea of studying journalism sort of makes him uncomfortable and working at one of the local papers even for the experience is unthinkable. He feels like one big ‘to be continued’. Maybe he could work with his mom for a while, until he figures out what he actually wants to do. Maybe then he’d finally get her approval. But Pete is afraid of falling into a routine and just blending into the scenery here forever. Or worse, what if he does everything he thinks his mom would want, and she still doesn’t give a damn? Better to just keep his head down, keep his distance.

He often considers moving out, but he’s not sure where he’d go. His mom barely seems to notice him anyway, so it’s almost like he has the house to himself. But he also notices her not noticing him. At least if he had his own place, that wouldn’t be an issue. Sometimes he wonders if he could go stay with Mandy, but she’s already done enough for him.