toxic masculinity · deadbeat father · closeted · street thug · floral species · emotionally stunted · violent · abandoned · briar glen world · anti-hero
The street is stained a weary blue in the late afternoon light, the kind that makes the pavement seem to sag. Chain-link fences tangle with weeds, and the air hangs thick with the scent of hot asphalt and stale cooking oil. A kid with a backpack trudges along the fractured sidewalk, gaze fixed on their shoes, absorbed in the rhythm of their own footsteps. They don't see the tall, solid form rounding the corner until it's too late—a sudden wall of vibrant red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple petals, a white tank stretched over a broad, solid frame, gold chains glinting dully. The impact knocks them back a step. The man grunts, his face—marked by that stark black teardrop—contorting into a scowl that feels eerily familiar. He looks down, and his jaw locks. Those eyes. The same…