Same here! PM for any relationship dynamics you're interested in with Ambrose! :]

Evelyn Phillips [+]

_{" Quote "}

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Name:

Evelyn Astrid Phillips

Nickname:

Eve, Eevee, both are natural shorter variants of Evelyn, and one is already a well known character/creature in a very popular children's TV series. Eve was first used by her stepfather, and Eevee was first used by her best friend.

Date of Birth:

April 3rd, 1994

Age:

23

Gender:

Female

Sexuality:

Pansexual

Relationship Status:

Single? [] In a relationship? [] Complicated? [x]

Sexually Active:

Not currently, not a virgin

Occupation:

Tattoo artist

Hometown:

Ocean City, New Jersey

Ethnicity:

Caucasian

In Depth Appearance:

Eve is a relatively fair skinned woman of 5'4", weighing in at 119 lbs. Her wavy dark blonde hair flows down below her shoulders and is usually combed over to one side to keep her hair out of at least one eye while working. Her steel blue eye are actually rather soft and usually shows the pain she has suffered in her past even if she doesn't want it to. She is roughly a c-cup. Outside of underwear, her wardrobe has six pairs of skinny jeans, a handful of yoga pants, four pairs of shorts, three Two-piece bikinis. She has eight T-shirts, and 4 tank-tops.

Appearance [+]

Tattoos:
Left Shoulder blade

Trans Heathen Tattoo [+]

Back upper right

Phoenix Tattoo [+]

Upper arms

Valkyrie wing tattoo [+]

Hobbies:

Drawing (duh), chess, video games (RPGs, FPS, Action).

Habits:

Bites lips, bites erasers, pen caps, etc., puts a pen behind her right ear before doing almost anything.

Likes:

Drawing, tattoos, chocolate, (watching) hockey, dogs, reading, John Barrowman (The immortal omnisexual Captain Jack Harkness... and she starts blushing just thinking about him)

Dislikes:

Remembering John Barrowman is Gay, Spiders, Cats (they always seem to be plotting something), "zealots" (the hardcore religious nut jobs are not fun to be around regardless of their faith, "Screamo" or dubstep "music", using mascara, dishes being left in the sink (oh my god, if you use it, clean it up!)

Fears:

Being found out, see background to find out what I mean.
Real Spiders (big and/or venomous)

Personality:

Eve has always been a relatively quiet girl, always rather walled off to protect herself. It is something she is working on overcoming, wanting to be more open and playful. She is a very spiritual young woman, often taking a half hour before going to sleep to listen to some calming music and meditate. She is rather protective of those she comes to consider her friend, and has been willing to put her own life in harms way to defend her best friend. She isn't fast to anger, but she also isn't slow. She doesn't like dealing with those who have no regard for good housekeeping or intentionally try to get under her skin.

Background:

The youngest of three,Evelyn wasn't originally born as Evelyn, she was born Bryan Steven Phillips (though I will be using Eve/her/she instead of Bryan/he/his, except in quotes). From the earliest she could remember she always enjoyed playing with her sister more than her brother and was fortunate that her mother allowed it, thinking she was being a good "brother". Her biological father on the other hand was very much bothered by this to the point of being disgusted. One night when Eve was seven, he snapped and grabbed her arm very forcefully when he saw her wearing a dress, and playing with dolls with her older sister. WARNING THIS NEXT PART CONTAINS PROFANITY AND ABUSE: "You are a fucking boy, not a god damn fucking fairy!" Her father roared, dragging her to her room, and literally tearing the dress off of her before beating her with his belt. With each blow, she cried out in pain and could feel as bruises started to form. By the time her mother got in from her grocery shopping and pulled her husband off of her youngest, there was twenty six long bruises, several broken ribs and a broken leg. As Eve's mother rushed her to the hospital, she send her daughter to a neighbour's house to call the police to report the attack. At the hospital they rushed to save young Eve's life, and take notes and pictures for the police. Needless to say when all the evidence was collected, not only was the father tried and convicted of child abuse and domestic violence, but also attempted murder. The damage had already been done though, Eve would have nightmares for the next two years before, with the help of a therapist, she managed to get them under control.
Disclaimed Section is concluded.

Her therapist, a woman named Elizabeth Farren, was very kind and helpful to Eve. It was with her that Eve eventually opened up about how she felt, why she enjoyed playing with her sister more than her brother. Elizabeth listened intently to every word Eve said and didn't interrupt. Not until Eve asked a question that absolutely tore at her very heart, "Was daddy right, am I a freak?" "No, you are not a freak. Different, maybe, but you are certainly not a freak." She asked Eve a few questions, eventually asking what would you like to be when you grow up? Eve responded, "I'd like to be a mommy some day, but daddy says boys and fairies don't get to be mommies. But I also like drawing so maybe I could do something with that too?" "Bryan, would you rather be a girl, so you could be a mom at some point?" "Yes but daddy said that's not how things work." "Not usually, but there are a few cases. What girl names do you like?" Eve didn't know how to answer at the time, so Elizabeth brought Eve's mother in and told her her suspicions and Eve's mother only hugged her daughter tight especially when Elizabeth told her that the road ahead will be long and difficult if she decides to go down that path. "But it will be easier since we figured it out before puberty."

It was pretty much since that point that Eve came out of her shell. She didn't even look back. Her mother let her dress more feminine, and until she chose her own name simply called her Brianna. At Eleven, Elizabeth recommended them an endocrinologist to prescribe Spiro (a shortened name of a medicine used as an anti-androgen)as well as begin with oestrogen. Within a few visits with the endocrinologist, she was fortunate enough to start with hormone replacement therapy. On her thirteen birthday she decided on a name to replace Brianna, Evelyn Astrid. Evelyn practiced her drawing skills and got really good. That was ironically the same year that her mother met her eventual stepfather.

At seventeen, Eve accompanied her older sister when she went to get a tattoo and watched the tattoo artist do his work. She was fascinated and wanted to learn more. When she graduated, she was hesitantly offered an apprenticeship with an Tattoo artist looking to move out. And she surprised him, proving herself quickly that she was very talented with a surprisingly steady hand and an eye for detail. He watched over all her works and when he thought she was ready introduced her to her first client, himself. He wanted her to tattoo him before he unleashed her on an unsuspecting population. And it wasn't exactly an easy design he was asking for, a werewolf and moon. But she kept slow and even breaths and her steady hand and completed the project, and with a nod and a firm handshake, her master was satisfied that she would do a good job. From there she went on to finish eighth in a tristate contest in the spring of 2016.

The reason she wanted to join the cast of the Real World was as a final test to herself that she can pass as female outside of the people she knows when up close and personal. With her final surgery coming up just after the summer ends, it would be the perfect time for her to run this final test in an extreme way. She was a bit nervous at having to explain her reasoning during the interview but at the same time she was excited. She knew there was a good chance she wouldn't be picked, but she did hope, because it meant she could come down to Miami and work on tattooing with some more well known names in addition to her "test." Finding out that she was selected was a major surprise for not only her but her family and friends, who didn't think that this would be the kind of thing she'd be interested in doing. Her stepfather was proud, since she was stepping outside of her comfort zone. Her mother was scared, knowing how harsh people could be, not wanting her little girl getting hurt. But Eve was excited and happy to receive the news, she packed up her most important items and made her way to Miami.

Miscellaneous:

In addition to being a Tattoo artist, she is also a Norse Pagan Shaman, and has a bag or runes in her room.

Color has been chosen at 1:27 am.

And I was off. I'm 15 minutes late. But close enough.

@HushedWhispers hi :)

Addison Mills [+]

_{"Flourine, Uranium, Carbon, Potassium
Yttrium, Oxygen, Uranium."}

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Name:

Addison Jeong-Min Mills

Nickname:

Addie — Addison can be somewhat of a mouthful, don't you think?

Date of Birth:

April 16th, 1991

Age:

Twenty-five

Gender:

Female

Sexuality:

Bisexual

Relationship Status:

Single

Sexually Active:

No

Occupation:

Clinical Biochemist

Hometown:

Inver Grove Heights, MN

Ethnicity:

Korean African American

In Depth Appearance:

If you go up to Addison and talk to her because she looks perky, preppy, bubbly or anything like that, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Addison's rounded face and soft features give her a youthful appearance and a gentle expression. Standing at a tall 5'11", Addie is a lot taller than most average ladies.

Addison is in the minority of not having any piercings or tattoos. She's far too invested in her work to even consider beautifying herself in any way. It's a wonder that Addison has any flattering clothing in general — she doesn't really have a good sense of fashion. If she didn't have a fashionista friend drag her to go shopping and pick out clothes with her, Addie would definitely just spend her life in comfortable sweatpants and oversized sweatshirts with her hair tied up in a messy bun.

Thankfully, she does have a fashionista friend (thanks Marissa!) who takes her shopping every so often and makes sure that Addie can look good.

Hobbies:

• Reading books of all genres except science fiction
• Horticulture
• Cooking

Habits:

• Forgetting to sleep or eat when preoccupied
• Spinning a pen with her fingers
• Tapping her lips with her finger

Likes:

• Puzzles
• Ambient sounds
• Anything STEM related
• Copious amounts of caffeine
• Spicy food
• Winter
• Cool colors

Dislikes:

• Antiscience and pseudoscience
• People who think with emotion,not logic
• Legumes
• Phone calls
• Pictures
• Not being taken seriously
• Social interaction

Fears:

• Spiders and similar creepy-crawlies
• Being silenced

Personality:

If there ever was anyone who needed a nice long bubble bath and a massage, it would be Addison. Tightly-wound, highly neurotic and with a sharp temper to boot, it's a wonder how Addie survives day-to-day life without snapping. As a business-like person with very little patience for pleasantries and unnecessary social interaction, she comes off as cold, uncaring, and callous. She doesn't do this to be cold, she just doesn't see much point in wasting time with unnecessary chatter and social etiquette.

Is Addison easy to get along with? Pleasant to be around? The answer is a resounding, confident "no". She's not necessarily a mean person per se, but her aloof attitude is often interpreted as being snotty, conceited, or condescending and that can buy her some resentment. And if someone wants to take on Addison, she'll fight back with everything she has. She likes to say that "I don't start drama, drama finds me though," and as far as she's concerned, it's true. She's vindictive and she holds grudges — it's highly unlikely that she'll ever resolve differences with someone dislikes.

A true researcher and scientist to the core, Addie has the tendency to become extremely tunnel-visioned when she's confronted with something of interest. She has laser sharp focus and if someone manages to divert her attention from something props to them — they can be proud of themselves, that's not something that's easily done.

Despite all of her obvious flaws and combative attitude, there's a friend in Addison somewhere, deep down if someone is willing to look for it. At her core, Addie is afraid of making friends and opening up to people is something that doesn't come naturally to her. The few friends that she does have are held very closely to her heart. She's painfully aware that she has difficulty getting along with people, and despite acting contrarily, it's something that's eaten away at her for a long time. Addie makes attempts to be friends, but she has difficulty letting the walls come down.

No one is a completely bad person, and Addison is no exception to that. She can be kind to strangers and people she likes. If someone is willing to listen to her talk about science or any of her other interests, she transforms into a different person: animated, bright, enthusiastic and talkative. She's also highly empathetic for people she accepts as friends, and she'll feel the pain when someone is sad and cry with them. Addison is a good listener and is more than willing to tell someone off for a friend.

Background:

Born to Eun-Ji Park and Matthew Mills, Addison's family life was turbulent from the very beginning. Elaine and Matthew while romantically involved, were not committed to each other. After Addison's birth, Eun-Ji and Matthew's relationship fell apart but they promised each other that they would both be in Addison's life. Thus, Addison's routine of spending the weekdays with her Korean family and spending the weekends with her father was established. For a traditional Korean family, it was difficult for them to completely accept a half-black child born out of wedlock. Eun-Ji shielded her daughter as best she could from the judgments of her parents, but Addison was far too observant to remain blissfully unaware. Addison loved her mother, but the weekends spent with her father was her sanctuary, away from all of the judgment from her mother's side of the family.

It was a relief when Eun-Ji's parents decided to move back to their hometown of Daegu, South Korea.

From a young age, it was obvious that Addison was accumulating an interest in STEM. Without wavering from that path, Addie attended the University of Minnesota for a degree in biochemistry. She got a job at the hospital attached to her alma mater, and is busily enjoying her job as a clinical biochemist.

Why would an introverted, antisocial scientist be on The Real World? Put simply, she lost a drunken bet. After a long night at the bar with her friends from university, it somehow ended with Addie drunkely agreeing to audition for The Real World. When she sobered up, she was vehemently against the idea, but a promise was a promise so reluctantly she went to audition with a friend.

Her friend didn't get in, but Addison's aloof demeanor and potential to cause drama caught the casting agent's attention. It was a whirlwind of happenings that Addie honestly doesn't remember well, but everything just snowballed and she was being told that she had been cast on the show. Living with so many other people will drive Addison insane, but she's not one to half-ass something — even if it's something as ridiculous as being on a reality TV show.

Who knows? Maybe she'll finally learn how to be social.

Miscellaneous:

I like HTGAWM!

@HushedWhispers

Garrett [+]

_{"You fuckin' druggo."}

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Name:

Garrett Jacob Miles

Nickname:

No nicknames. Some of his old friends occasionally dubbed him Crocodile Dundee because of his accent, but it never really stuck. He didn't have the knife to deserve the nickname anyhow.

Date of Birth:

13/08/1993

Age:

23

Gender:

Male

Sexuality:

Pansexual

Relationship Status:

Single

Sexually Active:

When he can get it, sure.

Occupation:

Drifter; jumps from part-time job to part-time job, depending on what takes his fancy. So far he's been a fry-cook, busboy, hand model, babysitter, dog-walker, lifeguard, horse-riding instructor, snow-boarding instructor, Disk Jockey at the local radio station, sales assistant in a retro music store, sales assistant in a modern music store, roadie for Aerosmith, and a tutor in world history. That's to name a few.

Hometown:

Colorado, Crested Butte. However, has lived in Bremer Bay (WA), Australia for most of his life.

Ethnicity:

Caucasian; White-American.

In Depth Appearance:

If it weren't for his ever-permanent grin and bright eyes, Garrett could be quite the intimidating individual; standing at a towering 6'5 with broad shoulders and toned muscles, he's got the body of your stereotypical jock. Said toned body is littered with a lovely mish-mash of scars – one doesn't live the reckless life he has without receiving more than a few, after all. Most are across his torso, sides and arms and legs; while great in number, not many are particularly large or deep. Scrapes from long ago still on knees and elbows; old keyhole operations to re-set bones smattered across his forearms; white gashes on his knuckles from wounds that never properly healed before being re-opened; a number of pin-pricks in the crooks of his elbows from where he'd shot up in the past. The biggest is probably a bite mark on the left of his torso, sustained from a rather vicious guard dog when he and his friends had trespassed in a junk yard as a dare when he was younger.

However, his face has remained unmarred from most scars or blemishes, really. There is a small one atop his head (received from climbing a tree or something when he was a clumsy kid), but it's hidden behind thick, wavy hair – depending on how much sun it's seen and how short it is, the colour can range from a rich honey brown to a coppery, dark blonde. His fringe is usually swept upwards, allowing his slim brows and bright blue eyes to be seen quite clearly.

In terms of style and grooming, Garrett doesn't put a lot of effort into looking good – his hair is easily tameable; usually running a hand through it will relieve him of a bedhead; it's rare to see his chiseled jawline covered in stubble – not much of it grows, and when it does, it's gone. He couldn't cope with a beard, no matter how awesome it would look. As for clothes, he just wears the usual casual stuff; tennis shoes or boots, jeans, t-shirts, etc. Garrett also has an abundance of cotton sweaters and hoodies in varying colours, preferring to wear them as opposed to an actual coat when the weather turns. He's not one to get cold, as you could tell be how often he walks around shirtless. (Usually when he rolls out of bed, is celebrating his favourite soccer team winning, or is really getting into a passionate rock song or something; the latter usually accompanied by a wild air guitar, headbanging, jumping on tables, and several items thrown at him from pissed-off spectators, annoyed by his terrible singing.) One thing he does keep on him at all times is a braided leather bracelet – totally battered and worn, but still sturdy enough to stay in one piece. It was given to him by his sister before she left, so he won't let it go.

Hobbies:
☼ Sketching/Doodling
☼ Horse-Riding, when he gets the chance.
☼ Practising the arts of Kendo and Brasilian Jiu Jitsu

Habits:
☼ Constantly checking Pokemon Go.
☼ Chewing gum.
☼ Bursting into song... regardless of whether it sounds good or not.

Likes:
☼ Korean Barbecue
☼ The Ocean and beaches
☼ Driving fast
☼ Snakes
☼ Getting high
☼ People comfortable in themselves
☼ Hot weather
☼ Video games - particularly the jumpscaring ones.
☼ Nintendo
☼ Asian cuisine; be it Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Indian

Dislikes:
☼ Modern Art
☼ The downsides of getting high
☼ The possibility that he's addicted to drugs, and they control him rather than the other way round.
☼ The thought that if his sister were alive now, she would be so disappointed in him.
☼ People who try too hard to be "special" or "different".
☼ Cold weather
☼ Getting too close to a romantic partner
☼ Bourbon; c'mon man, if you're going to drink whiskey, at least get the decent stuff.
☼ Coffee

Fears:
☼ Accidentally overdosing/Losing himself to the drugs
☼ Intimacy; letting anyone too close to his heart in case it goes terribly wrong

Personality:

If one were to meet Garrett for the first time, and be in a room with him for five minutes, you could easily come to the conclusion of "moron". He does stupid things for no apparent reason – if someone asked him to headbutt a wooden wall to see if he could bust all the way through, he'd probably go for it. He's the guy who would dive off a cliff if somebody said it would be fun; and that's not a random suggestion, he has actually done that. Plenty of times. Not to mention the lack of seriousness hanging about him – the near constant stream of jovial comments, jokes, puns and sarcasm gives one the impression that he's without a care – or brain cell – in the world.

However, he isn't stupid – he just doesn't care to think about the consequences of his actions, instead electing to throw himself head first into most situations. Including speaking, so he can say rather blunt things without thinking about people's feelings beforehand, while not intentionally being mean, he can sometimes come across as such. Regardless of what his parents might say, or even his friends – if something piques his interest he'll give it a go, no matter the potential danger. Even after losing his sister, he's retained this way of thinking, perhaps being even more reckless at times; not only is adrenaline a good distraction from other, more damaging addictions of his, but he lost a certain amount of caring for his well-being when he lost Andy. Sometimes he thinks that if he weren't like this, then he could have followed in her footsteps and stopped everything from happening... or he could have died too. But then, he wouldn't be Garrett either. So he lives with it cheerfully, for the most part; and he is a cheerful person. There isn't much that can bring him down – but this is not always to his advantage. Any psychologist could see his constant state of optimism and humour is just a defence mechanism; bringing on forms of denial when it comes to bad things. This in turn has lead to procrastination in his jobs; a "mañana-mañana" sort of attitude when it comes to his responsibilities. While having never been fired from a job for slacking, he sometimes waits too long to look for a decent job, then running out of money and panicking to find a place that will hire him before becoming a vagrant.

His deniability doesn't just stop there though – there are many things in his life that he hasn't truly accepted. On the outside, it may just seem like he's okay with it, but in all honesty, he isn't. His sister's death is severely repressed, alongside a certain denial surrounding his drug habit. All the time he thinks that it wouldn't hurt to try just a little bit of weed to relax, but the thought of descending into that maddening spiral again is enough to put him off... for now, at least. The temptation grows every day, and while he'll laugh and joke with his friends, having a few lagers and pretending everything is fine, that little voice tells him to bring back that dark side. Well... he considers it to be dark; losing one's self control is a concerning thing. However, it should be noted than when high - or more commonly these days, drunk - he's never been violent. Dubbed a "happy drunk", Garrett is more likely to hurt you with a hug when he's had one too many pints than to get aggressive. He may even spill out a few heartfelt truths about a crush, if he gets drunk enough. When sober, if reminded of this, it will naturally get laughed off. But under this jovial, joke-cracking exterior, Garrett has all the normal feelings and emotions of any other person. He's just not one to wear his heart on his sleeve.

Background:

Garrett and his twin sister Candice were born on Friday the 13th. Is this starting like a horror story? Yes - but Garrett will tell anyone who laughs at the superstitious date his birth fell upon that he and his sister were never cursed, or demon children, or even the Anti-Christ. Can you imagine that? Not one, but two children of Satan? As if twins weren't already annoyingly inconvenient for parents. But were they unlucky? Yes... he supposes they were quite unlucky, at least as they approached adulthood. As for growing up, Garrett and Candice (Who swiftly learnt to hate her name and go by Andy instead) had it pretty normal. While born in their mother's native America, the family relocated to Australia not soon after the twin's birthday due to new job opportunities for their father; being as young as they were, they didn't really notice the move and grew up quite happily in their new home down under.

As the twins progressed through school, it became clear that one was doing better than the other. While both of them being both very keen at sports and proficient in them, Garrett's grades were steadily slipping academically while Andy was doing extremely well across the board. Soon, all Garrett was getting passes in was art, sport, and history - he insisted he wasn't stupid, he just found everything else too boring to listen to. After several bouts on punishment by his parents and teachers - which didn't really help him want to learn, if anything he became less likely to try in class - Andy began helping him with his studies. Simply on the basis of she and him wanting to stick by each other through everything, she explained he'd have to work harder if they wanted to go through life together as they'd always planned. Realising (somewhat reluctantly) that she was right, Garrett put in the bare, minimum effort to get his grades back up to standard. It didn't take much; as he'd already stated to his parents, he wasn't stupid, he was just bored. In fact, by the time he was 14 (now in secondary school), he was offering tutoring for the other students in history. Provided they paid him, that was.

By the time the pair had reached the age of 17, they had left school and unsure of what to do next. Well, Garrett was unsure. Andy had a plan; a plan she'd been thinking over for a good few years. Wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps, she told a surprised Garrett that she was wanting to join the Marines - the US Marines, that was. More than happy to follow in his sister's footsteps, the pair told their parents of their plan, and were soon jetting off to the States for a new, exciting life in the Marine Corps.

Except Garrett didn't. Didn't pass the requirements, that is - apparently he'd failed his "moral aptitude" test, which even he thought was understandable. He wasn't the most morally perfect person in the whole world; and he greatly disliked having orders barked at him. In hindsight, the Marines was probably not the greatest choice for a free spirit like himself. As for Andy, she had passed with flying colours, and was already being considered for the Intelligence programme she had applied for. While concerned for her wellbeing, Garrett was swollen with pride over his hard-working sister, telling her to go for it. He would take the time to get some part-time work here and there; exploring America as he went. Although they would be apart for a while, he would be there for her when she got back from her training - and before she went on a tour.

From here, Garrett did exactly that - bouncing around from state to state, he had plenty of skills to get jobs wherever took his fancy, as long as it didn't require a college degree. He took in new sights, learnt new things, made new friends, made love with new people, and tried to keep in touch with his sister and parents as much as he could. It was an easy enough life for a few years. But at the age of 21, it seemed that birthday of Friday the 13th finally caught up to him. Having just been a regular day, he couldn't understand the grief-stricken phone-call from his mother, fighting past her sobs to break the news to him. When she finally broke down and his father took over, Garrett's mind and body seemed to have gone numb as the message finally sank in. Killed in action? Andy? No... he would have felt it, he would have felt something. There were all these documentaries and TV shows about people feeling their twin's grief or pain from miles and miles away, he would have felt the same thing, right?

Understanding - real understanding - only came to him at the funeral. Even on the flight from the States back home was met with some slight denial. Everyone from his extended family seemed to be there; great-aunts and third cousins that he'd only ever met at his christening as a baby. They all said the same things; "So sorry for your loss..." and "At least she died doing what she loved..." But how could they know that? Andy loved surfing and barbecues and crappy jewellery; she loved petting dogs and cooing at sloth videos and ruffling Garrett's hair whenever he did something stupid. These strangers dressed in black didn't know a damn thing about her, or about him for that matter. The soldiers present didn't make him feel much better either. When told that Andy had died to save others, or had won a posthumous award for her bravery, he sourly wished that the others had died. He knew this was selfish of him to think, that it wasn't doing anything for Andy's memory - but he didn't care. He'd stopped caring about a lot of things when Andy died.

After a too-long military funeral, with the flag folded and handed to his pale-faced mother; everyone jerking in the seats at the sharp crack of each blank round fired - Garrett skipped the reception afterwards, heading back to his childhood home to be alone. He couldn't stand anymore people he barely knew hugging him and telling him it would get better. By the next day, he had packed his things and guiltily told his parents he was going back to America - he couldn't stand to stay here, not with all the memories. When they told him that they understood, and dropped him off at the airport with tight, lingering hugs and kisses wet with tears, he felt even worse at abandoning them. He promised to stay in touch, to look after himself, to promise to come home if things got too much for him... but he lied.

Garrett went straight back to his drifting ways, but it wasn't as hopeful or enjoyable as before. It was as if he was looking or searching for something, but he couldn't even find it - he remained empty as he bounced from state to state. It didn't take long for him to try and fill that hole with alcohol, and eventually drugs. It started off small; a puff of a bong here, a spliff there. But then a friend introduced him to ecstasy. When the ecstasy stopped working as well as it used to, he turned to acid. When the acid freaked him out too much, he tried some cocaine offered to him. It was a seemingly endless spiral downwards, trying new things to try and feel better - and it worked, for a while. But when the high disappeared, he felt darker and more depressed than ever. Contact with parents descended from regular phone calls to postcards, just to let them know he was alive and working... they couldn't tell how close to the edge of hopelessness he was from just writing.

His drug habit continued for a year or so, before landing a job in some stables in Colorado, the very state he was born in. It was a 6 month contract, meaning he'd have to stay there a bit longer than usual - which he didn't mind, considering how much he enjoyed horse-riding. While working there, he got to ride horses for when they needed extra exercising - the only downside was the owner. A sharp-witted fellow, he caught on to Garrett's issues straight away. Rather than turning him down for the job, he decided to give him a chance, what with seeing that the boy was really trying to better himself, to try and stop the total control of drugs. Gently persuaded by his boss, he took up classes in the nearby town for Kendo. The boss himself partook in the modern martial art, stating that it was a fine way to exercise and discipline yourself. On top of this, he picked up Brazilian jiu jitsu - a sport he had begun back in Australia as a kid, but had abandoned when coming to the states. Both martial arts proved to work some kind of magic in Garrett; he excelled in both of them, learning to turn to practice and exercise whenever a craving hit him or whenever he got down. The endorphins released from exercise did wonders for curing his sour moods, along with something introduced into his life that he hadn't felt in a while; hope. The hope that he could turn this around, that he could make something of himself and make Andy - and his parents - proud. Even when his contract came to an end, he remained in Colorado, continuing with this cleaner, healthier lifestyle in the hopes that he wouldn't relapse again.

Eventually, he grew bored of staying in the same place, and moved on once again. Landing in California, he heard of the auditions for The Real World in some bar he was hoping to get a job at. He'd seen it on TV a few times, but what with never being one for reality TV, hadn't invested much thought into it. However, to actually take part in the show would be interesting; not only could it possibly open up future job prospects, Garrett figured he could even make some actual permanent friends. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to audition for it. As it happened, the interview process was easily the most straight-forward one he'd ever had in his life; in which acting like himself was making him more likely to get a spot on the show. An Australian surrounded by yanks? The producers obviously thought that would make for a breath of fresh air, so they recruited him. Garrett was surprisingly excited for it - it would prove to be entertaining for himself, at the very least. Also, it was free rent for a while. He could put up with the cameras for that.

Miscellaneous:

Brooklyn 99 has got to be a current favourite of mine. Sweet Jesus, I love that show.

Woo! Glad I managed to finish him by today. Hope everything is cool.