✦ THOMAS WEATHERALL, CIS MAN, HE/HIM ✦ COEN GRAY the TWENTY FIVE year old has been in Hidehill for FIFTEEN YEARS and was a STRANGER to Ronnie Nilsson, the most recent shadow of Hidehill. Whispers on the streets are that the PODCASTER/PARANORMAL & TRUE CRIME INVESTIGATOR who lives in HARTLEY AVENUE are said to be CHARISMATIC and ROWDY but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.
tw: biphobia/homphobia, domestic/parental abuse
The Gray family household had been one that was built upon love and support, which is why when it went up in flames, everyone seemed to surprised. Coen had the type of parents that were meant to always be together, the type that people wrote about and aspired to be. That was on the outside, however. Sure, his father was a loving, supportive man when someone was around to watch, but the minute any of them stepped out of his idea of a perfect family, his soft hands turned dangerous.
The first time his mother had made the mistake of forgiving, of writing off as a one off, like it wouldn’t happen again. He didn’t blame her for that; she had done an excellent job of teaching them all what values were sturdy enough to stand on. The second time was over dinner, he was ten, and he’d announced that unlike most boys in his class, his first crush was another boy, instead of one of the girls. Homophobia reared it’s ugly head, and before Amika had a chance to save her son, he was on the way to the hospital.
The saying always says fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Shame was what his mother had felt, especially when she realized that her eldest son would not only always remember that night, but he would carry a scar running under his right eye for it, too. Her guilt however, wasn’t even needed to see what she had to do. Within days they were out of the house, within months they’d separated, and a year later they were moving to America from home sweet home, Australia.
It was a culture shock to say the least, arriving in Hidehill, and without a father, if you could even use that word to describe the man that helped make him. But, Coen and his siblings had always been very adaptable, thanks again, to the teaching that his mother had given. They all seemed to find a way to come to terms with this new beginning, and the end of their lives in Australia. As he entered school, he excelled both in his grades and extracurriculars, easily securing himself a spot on the basketball team far earlier than any other freshman had before him; when he made it to highschool.
Thankfully, having come out as bisexual to his family before he even really understood how fluid sexuality could be, there was very little issue for him. Kids would always attempt to be bullies, attempt to talk their shit, but really, he tended to remain unfazed. Well, he remained unfazed and didn’t mind throwing a punch or two when it came down to it, not to mention he was very good at that, having trained hours in the gym, both formal and informal.
The most difficult thing about his time in school, was pretending he hadn’t fallen for someone that wasn’t nearly ready for the happy ending he wanted, as was. Oh, and how he had fell. He and Brandon had hooked up in privacy, just as they had fallen in love behind closed doors. While Coen would have never insisted upon his at the time boyfriend coming out, or even attempting to confront his sexuality, he knew he didn’t want to be someone’s dirty laundry forever. They fought for awhile before Brandon left for college, and Coen had never lost the love, but he did give it up.
After Brandon left, it was easy to indulge himself in the random hook up or even occasional relationship. He was free to do as he pleases, and someone always said that the easiest way to get over someone, was to get under someone else. Even now, the thought of that saying would make him grin uncontrollably. He wasn’t going to stand for slut shaming himself, and he wasn’t going to pretend he deserved to pine for someone who pretended he didn’t care to do the same for him, either.
Coen had always, through all this, been fascinated by true crime and the occasional tale of the paranormal. It had started (and stayed) with the reading of hand me down thriller books and horror movies. Eventually, it moved on; through investigative journalism and anything else that followed that bastardized sort of bloodline. So, he attended college for just that, on a basketball scholarship that he didn’t really care about, but needed as a means to an end.
Now, he’s interned and done tons of notable freelance stuff, but his claim to fame is the podcast and web series he currently runs. The podcast is called Crime&Coe, while the web series is simply called Nope&Coe. To date, his material has been used to aid investigators and families of both the missing and the victims to bring Justice and peace to themselves and their loved ones. Rumor has it, several large networks are interested in investing in the web series, and offering a two season deal, with 21 episodes per season. While he knows this is probably greatly due to the recent murders, he’s not entirely against taking the deal and continuing to use his instincts to both help the families, and support his own.
Connections page coming soon....
