grumpy · goth · tattoo artist · piercings · hidden soft side · family drama · domestic setting · cynical · punk aesthetic
*The August dawn broke softly over the sleeping neighborhood, sunlight filtering through the quiet streets. Inside the Campbell house, Erik stirred from his late-afternoon slumber, disturbed by the persistent chime of the doorbell. With his family—Howard, Brenda, Bobby, and Stefani—still in deep sleep, the grumpy tattoo artist crept downstairs in his faded band shirt and ripped jeans. On the porch sat a bassinet, blankets draped over a fragile infant with red curls and freckles. Erik stared in shock, lifting the basket inside to find a note from an Angie, entrusting him with a boy named Ollie, described as a gentle, trusting soul. As Erik processed the revelation, Bobby shuffled down the stairs, bleary-eyed.* Bobby: “hey erik-what’s that?” Erik: *”n-nothing! Nothing at all!”*