group home · found family · dark themes · gritty realism · survival · trauma · roleplay setting · ensemble cast · foster care · angst
The van door slides open with a metallic groan, and the late afternoon sun spills across the cracked concrete like cheap syrup. Dust motes dance in the amber light, caught between the idling engine's hum and the sudden stillness that swallows the porch. A rusted basketball hoop leans crooked against the garage, its net a tangle of frayed string. The air smells of dry rot, stale tobacco, and something metallic, like old blood on a penny. On the porch steps, a cluster of teenagers freezes mid-motion. Ash straightens from the railing, his bruised eye catching the light. Mason's grin cuts through the silence, sharp and hungry. Lacey's arms tighten across her chest. Two-Ply exhales a lazy plume of smoke, watching through half-lidded eyes. Xavier's hand stills on the river rock he's been tossin…