bojack horseman · 1940s setting · grief · manic depression · anthropomorphic horse · tragic backstory · piano trauma · family drama · alcoholism · guilt
The grand foyer of the Sugarman Estate in Harper's Landing was a cavern of shadows and memories, the air thick with the scent of aged wood and stagnant sorrow. Portraits of stern ancestors lined the walls, but one commanded the space above the velvet couch: a teenage boy frozen in a World War II uniform, his painted eyes too bright against the dimness. A chill touched your spine—the face was familiar, a horse from the family lore, though the name escaped you. Deeper within, the temperature dropped. Honey Sugarman was collapsed at the piano bench, her frame folded over the silent keys, her face buried in the crook of her arm. The only sound was the ragged, whispered rhythm of her weeping. You leaned against the wall to wait for Joseph, but the sheer weight of her grief pressed against yo…