'Cause I love you like that / I'm a reckless driver / You tell me all the time to keep my eyes on the road
Name: Xiaogang "Gary" Kao / Fairy Gary Kao
D.O.B.: July 24th, 1960 (65 years old)
Identity: Pansexual cis man (He/him)
Magic status: Fairy – Pixie Dust-talent, Head of Dust Talents
Accent: Taiwanese/Swynlake's regional English accent. There's strong hints of his Taiwanese accent in his speech
Height (human form): 5'11
Occupation: Head of Pixie Dust Talents in the Enchantra Hollow
Relationship Status: Promised
What would my character know?: Not much? He lives in the Hollow. If you're a fairy, you'd know him and his Promised and their two children, Hattie Rose (15) and Sadie Quinn(5)
If I Google them?: Nothing whatsoever
Other: By human standards, Gary and his promised are considered an “open relationship” but this is fairly common in fairy practice
She gave him a short nod. Sure that's what he said, but she did always feel a little like an inconvenience.
It didn't matter what he said, she would feel that way. How could she not when she was part of a secret life?
Seeing her just made the secret harder to maintain. And one day, when the cats all got out of their bags, who would people blame? Who would they keep in their life and who would just keep being another stranger?
"Okay," she gave him another small nod. "Thank you. I... I'll keep that in mind if I um... have any more questions."
Hadn't she just admitted to having a lot of questions? Wouldn't it be easier to just ask them?
Instead of saying anything about that though, he kept himself in check. Yeah...Marcy had every right to hesitate to rely on him for anything, even just answers to questions.
"Please do," he said. "Or I'm sure your friend, uh, Linnet would be very helpful. But I'm always here."
As friendly as Avery was it wasn't always easy for him to meet people, because he was cautious, still. That had improved over time but given that it hadn't been more than a few years since he'd gotten lost so far from a home that he couldn't easily go back to it was understandable that the world was still very new, people very strange, and some days were better than others.
The water helped, Isaac supposed, since Avery was quite literally in his element there and far more comfortable.
"Nice to meet you Gary, and you too Sadie," Isaac smiled, briefly shaking that man's hand before he relaxed again. One thing he missed with his new job was the parents; for the longest time teaching he was a little outside their world but now that he was a parent himself he missed the conversations with others at the primary school.
He nodded, he had no doubt it was for the sake of polite conversation but it still felt nice to hear his name instead of Mr. Morey, which seemed like a formality people at Town Hall stuck with no matter how often it was fine to call him Isaac.
"Do you make it out to the lake often? I feel like I'm here so much in the summer I have most of the faces practically memorized," he laughed, glancing at the kids to check on them but they were busy splashing around near the shore.
"My girls do, but my wife usually takes them," Gary explained. "I'm very busy in the Hollow with my work there."
No use explaining what a head dust-talent does, so he didn't.
"But she's very busy this time of year. She's a professor of biology at the university so it's coming up on exam season. My work is calmer this time of year, so I'm on lake duty today."
He said it like that was simple. Like it would put her at ease. All you did was exist. And that was the whole problem, wasn't it? She was at the core of it all, whether any of them liked it or not.
She should agree and move on. She should say okay and thank you. But she just looked at the table in front of her. He said she didn't need to apologize but that was all Marcy wanted to do. It was all she ever wanted to do. Apologize for being an inconvenience, apologize for existing.
She shifted, finally look up at Gary. "I mean, I can't come by the hollow all that often anyway. At least not inside. So... I guess we don't have to worry about it too much." There was a bit of lightness to her tone, hopefully leaving the implication out there that that just meant they'd have to meet outside the hollow.
Or perhaps he'd take it as then they shouldn't meet up.
Marcy didn't know if she cared which way he took her words. Either way, this would still hurt for both of them.
Should I just tell her? was on the tip of his tongue. Nicola, his wife, Hattie Rose and Sadie's mother. He could, it'd be easy to blow up his life, it was a long time coming anyway.
"That's okay, I don't mind coming to town more." Gary said, sipping his tea. "It's not an inconvenience to see you."
He wished she knew that.
But he knew why she felt that, because he couldn't just claim her as his. Or wouldn't. Whichever it was.
"You deserve answers to your questions. I should've given them a long time ago, so." He shrugged. "You can always talk to me, ask me."
Avery bobbed a bit with the sway of the water while she spoke; he couldn't imagine not knowing how to swim, but he knew sorta how that felt. "Oh, I had to learn to walk on the ground." Which sounded funny to a lot of people but sea elves didn't go on land at all most of the time! And not until they were much older anyway. It must have worked the same way with people on land; so many of them didn't know how to swim.
"It's not hard," he confirmed, "you just gotta practice. You can swim with me." Nobody had ever really asked before but Avery wanted to help, that was what you were supposed to do.
He did swim closer though with a few flicks of his tail though, so she wouldn't have to go out into the deeper water.
Isaac watched the kids for a minute, offering Gary a spot on the blanket so he wouldn't have to sit on the ground.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine; he can breathe in the water but he knows other people can't, he'll make sure she doesn't go out too far." Isaac mentioned to Gary, but it was also because he knew Avery wouldn't venture out into the center of the lake all by himself anyway. If he and Nick had been in the water possibly so, but he didn't like to go that far away from them usually.
"No promise it'll be an easy time getting them back in though, he'll try to stay out there all day," he laughed.
It wasn't the bartender this bloke had to worry about.
It was Gem.
Because Gem was spoiling for a fight and this man had just sat down in the seat that Gem had reserved in his head. And he'd spent the last few hours, quiet and brooding. Until he'd quietly whipped himself up into a firestorm of grief and regret.
He was looking for something to take a bite out of.
"You know that 'girl in the blue dress'?" Gem asked, cutting across the bartender who was shrugging and saying 'sure!' "Seems to me like you just came outta no where. Last time I checked, Uber drivers didn't pick up the tab."
Gary was not easily ragebaited, not did he care to entertain some pissed off person who decided he wanted to fight. Still, it very much bothered him that someone might misunderstand his relationship with Ningning, so he turned to the younger man and chose to address him calmly, hoping that staved off a fight.
"She's my niece. My sister will lecture her for partying even though she's an adult, so I'm taking her for the night. My daughters will enjoy drunk makeup time with their cousin, she won't get yelled at, my sister has time to cool down, I did something nice, everyone wins."
This was Pierrot, its countertop shiny onyx and new. It was cold against his elbows where he had rested them.
Each time he came in here, it was like picking at a scab. His gaze searched for something, anything familiar, that would remind him of Tink--and all the others too. The way they'd laugh, the kind of laugh of a group of people who had a secret only the others knew.
Gem had never fit in like that with anyone.
He took a sip of his drink: whiskey, neat.
Someone started to sit down on the stool next to him. "That seat is taken."
But you don't ignore an SOS from your niece. Ningning was Gary's older sister's daughter and she was kind of, as she would say, going through it right now.
Recent breakup, struggling in the job market, struggling through grad school applications, feeling the weight of her parents' expectations, living in the shadow of her brilliant older brother-- Gary could sympathize with her. Even if he didn't much approve of the partying, but hey, at least she called her uncle to take her back to his home in the Hollow to avoid her mother in town.
Except now that Gary was here, she found her second party wind and didn't want to leave.
He thought he may as well grab a drink and wait for Ningning to tire herself out...but that may take longer than he cared to wait. The temptation to throw her over his shoulder and pay her bar tab on the way out was strong.
You know what, maybe he should just do that. So that's why he sat down, to pay Ningning's bar tab.
"Oh? Sorry then," he said, standing up, then just leaning over the bar to flag down the bartender. "See that girl over there, in the blue dress? I'm paying her bar tab. What do I owe you?"
He hoped to god the bartender assumed that was his daughter or something and that he wasn't a creepy old man.
Marcy bit the inside of her lip. Could she ask him? Really? Part of her wanted to, sure, but...
"How much can I?" she asked, a little surprised by her own brazenness. "How often? Do you have a lot of young fairies coming to you specifically for guidance, or wouldn't it seem a little strange that the only one who was was a Taiwanese half-fairy?"
As soon as she said all that she looked down at the table between them, her face turning bright red.
"I... I'm sorry. I don't-- I shouldn't have..." she wanted to disappear. Too bad she wasn't a whole fairy and couldn't shrink down to pixie size and fly away. That would make so many of her problems so much easier to solve--or at least run away from.
Gary's eyes widened, shocked by her questioning and the anger that tinged with it, but he wasn't offended. He deserved much worse and frankly he was glad Marcy was at least reacting instead of sitting there meekly.
"You said nothing you need to apologize for," he said simply.
He took a sip of his tea.
"Mm, it's mostly pixie-dust talents that come to be for guidance, as their talent head. But--" he almost said 'we could make up a reason we know each other' but didn't "-- you can come to me as often as you want. It's something I should've done for you a long time ago. I'll worry about how it looks, you don't need to. All you did was exist."
Once the weather had dipped into summer heat there was no keeping Avery away from the lake. Most days after school he was already asking to go before they'd even gotten home and Isaac got the text that Nick was off on another afternoon adventure. That day, however, he'd stepped away from Town Hall to spend the afternoon while Nick ran a few errands and planned to meet them by the water later.
Avery had already removed the shoes he didn't like to wear, and now that it wasn't cold anymore he could get away with not having to as much even if he wasn't going to be swimming, while Isaac found a spot on the bank to spread out a blanket to sit and the backpack that held snacks in case Avery's appetite couldn't hold up until Nick showed up. He'd just disappeared into the water when Isaac spotted the little girl come running over.
Avery surfaced, unglamoured skin a trailing gradient of yellow, violet, blue and teal from his head to toes, turning his attention towards the voice. His scales, which he was always quick to point out were fish scales and not lizard, caught the sunlight with a hint of iridescent as the elf treaded water with the lazy sway of his water salamander-like tail and a few kicks of his legs.
"Hello," at first he glanced at his dad to make certain it was okay, then nodded. He hadn't fully grown out of his tendency to be shy but one on one with people he could usually manage. "I'm Avery," he introduced himself and then lifted a web fingered hand that direction, "and that's my dad."
Sadie, still stood at the shore, tentatively dipped a toe in then pulled it back out, making a face. But she did want to play with the little boy! So it was time to be brave, yes. Very brave.
"Hi Avery! I'm Sadie, and that's my baba." She pointed at Gary, and Gary nodded to the kid, then to the kid's father.
Gary introduced himself and offered his hand to the kid's father while the kids shouted to each other across the lake.
"Baba says I need to learn to swim, but I'm scared. Can I swim with you?" Sadie asked, then wiggled her arms. "I got arm floaties, I can float."
With the warmer weather, the girls (mostly Hattie Rose) were begging to go to the lake to swim. Not all fairies knew how to swim, but Gary insisted his daughters learn since they go to human school, have human friends, and might do human fun activities like, yes, swimming. Better safe than stuck trying to learn how to tread water when you needed it.
Hattie Rose ran into some friends and went to hangout with them, and that just left little Sadie, who hadn't been swimming but once or twice before.
"Baba, I'm scared," she said, looking up at him.
Gary crouched down next to her. "That's okay, you can still do things if you're scared. But you don't have to right now. Do you need a minute?"
"No, I can do it."
Except, she clearly wasn't ready, because she stood at the edge of the lake a long while before turning back around to look at him.
"Maybe I do need a minute."
Gary gestured to a group of kids about her age playing together. "Would you be less nervous if you asked them if you can play?"
"I don't know them." Sadie pointed out.
"Fair point, fair point." Yeah, he didn't much care to join random groups either.
Then, Sadie gasped. "But that boy is by himself! I can ask him!" Sadie ran over to where the boy, in the water, could hear her. "Hey! Heyyy, do you want to play?"
Marcy smiled. "That's good to hear. Photography is cool." She did enjoy hearing about her sisters and their hobbies, but something about it always stung this small part at the back of Marcy's head. This stupid little bead of jealousy that he would never rave over her talents and hobbies. But she wasn't fully jealous of her sisters, just envious of the situation.
She smiled through his little anectdote about himself. She didn't really party--she tried a few times, to little success. She did some mental math again, hearing he was in his 20s in the 80s. She needed to ask how old he was exactly. But then that meant asking more questions about being half fairy and what that meant for her own life expectancy and she... didn't love thinking about all that.
"Oh," she said, surprised. "Um, yeah. Linnet is great. She's a music talent. She's really sweet. She's... well, she's helped me learn a lot about that side of my life."
Okay, ouch. But fair. Really, what right did he have to be the slightest bit wounded by that?
Still, he carefully looked over at Marcy and said, "You know you can ask me, too."
Because she can. He was here...now. But maybe that was the problem, he and Hailey thought distance was better Marcy's whole life, so why would Marcy believe any different now?
A giant white board stood next to him propped up on the Amazon prime purchased tripod. Foot traffic at the Farmers Market was P R I M E !
“Hey you! Yeah you! What’s up playa?!” Roland wiggled his fingers toward the whiteboard. “I need you to help me build a menu! What food would make you wanna stop and grab a bite?! Sky’s the limit!”
Gary was here with the girls because they'd wanted to go. He wasn't the one in his marriage that made human money so anything that involved that he deferred to his promised.
He'd gotten separated from everyone else, having turned his back for ten seconds and they'd all walked off, but eh, he'd find them eventually. He wasn't worried.
When someone approached him all full of energy, Gary blinked at him, but was happy to engage.
"Oh...well, I probably wouldn't be much help. "I live in the Hollow, we basically eat plants all day."
Marcy wasn't too concerned about where she would stay for the summer. She would figure it out. Even if it was a last minute flight to her parents.
Listening to Gary talk about his daughters always twisted something in her. He was clearly so proud of them and adored them more than anything. But she couldn't help that small drop of jealousy knowing Gary never boasted about her. And that he never would. She could go off and accomplish something huge in her life and he wouldn't turn to the person next to him and say 'that's my daughter.'
Sometimes she wondered if her mother was right. If it was for the best to keep her away from Gary and his life and the Hollow.
"She's very talented," Marcy said with a small smile. She didn't add her thoughts on those kinds of pressures on a teen and how much that could make them not want to pursue education at all. She didn't say how it could strain a relationship if they forced her to do something she didn't want to, or that letting her take a gap year wouldn't hurt. Who was she to give parenting advice?
"That's about it," Marcy said with a shrug. "Well, no, that's not true. I like video games and comics. I like playing D&D with my friends..." It was like Marcy forgot everything about herself now that she had to share it with him. That, or she worried it was too boring and not impressive enough. "I don't really do much else, though."
"Oh, yeah, Hattie Rose is always getting into something new. We're hoping the photography thing sticks for a while if only because her mother spent a good amount of money on a nice camera for her." Gary said. "So far she's making good use of it. And Sadie of course is demanding pictures taken all the time. It's already lasted longer than the painting phase."
He realized how widely he was smiling while talking about them and slowly tempered his enthusiasm.
"All I did was hangout with my friends when I was your age-- go to school, party, study, repeat." Gary said. "I don't remember sleeping, I know I did, but when I think about it it's like 'when did I have time?' The 80's was a great time to be in your twenties."
A beat.
"I think I ran into one of your friends when she collected dust in the hollow, um. Linnet? She seems nice."
"Oh," Marcy said with a short nod. Well, at least she learned a little more about how the dust distribution worked. Maybe that was a silly question--one someone who grew up in a hollow may know better than to ask. But Marcy didn't know better. She barely knew what she was doing with the Dust she received monthly.
"How are things with them--Sadie and Hattie Rose?" she asked, though maybe she shouldn't have. It was always a touchy subject.
"I don't know. i haven't really thought about summer yet. I'm barely ready for spring break," she let out a small laugh. "I haven't talked to them about it yet though. They haven't brought it up to me either." Her parents were busy though. They had a lot to do. She didn't blame them or anything.
That was so wild to him. The dorms closed for summer! Were her parents not concerned with where she lived during summer break? What if she slept on a park bench, would they know?
He wished he could offer her to stay with him, his promised, and their girls. It was entirely his fault he couldn't. So he supposed he had no room to judge her parents.
"They're good, yeah. Sadie's finally making friends at school it seems. We've met some of the other parents for playdates so I suppose she's getting on well now. That or she's a good liar, but she's too little to be good at that I think." Gary mused.
There was so much he could say but knew he shouldn't. That he was sad his kids were so big now, that he and his promised were weighing the pros and cons of having another baby, that Marcy would love them if she had the chance to know them.
"And Hattie Rose is still fighting me on university, but my partner agrees with me about it. She's started to get into photography along with everything else she does."
There was a beat.
"What about you? Um. Besides school and spending time in the forest. What do you like?"
Another playlist that's hand-in-hand with a pitch to pick up a wanted character! This time, Gary's promised (fairy spouse) can be any gender aged 45-75 (but with fairy aging, a fc between like 37-50-ish). Like, come onnnn guys it's so juicy!!! Finding out the man you've been married to for 20-30 years (depending on age of spouse character) and have 2-3 children with has a secret daughter older than your children together? Dramaaaa!
Realizing the reason he changed his tune about having kids not just because you wanted them, but because he felt guilty??? Good stuff.
I'm aware I can NPC this role but I think I'd enjoy this plot even more and it'd be so much more dynamic if he had a spouse in play! So I'm going to refrain from crafting an NPC for a few months in case anybody is interested and wants to chat. I can wait months for you to have an open character slot too! but if you have any interest, do come chat with me.
Tracklist below with explanations lol
The Civil Wars - Poison & Wine
I don't have a choice, but I still choose you
This is actually the song that made me want to do the Fairy Gary plot in the first place, hearing this line. It immediately made me think of that Gilmore Girls storyline where Emily and Richard separated and Emily went on a date with a lovely man, got home, and immediately sobbed bc ultimately that man WASN'T RICHARD and I was like wow, imagine separating and being like but no other person is MY person.
Anyway, that's not exactly how this plot would have to go. But it's one possible angle to take.
sodagreen - 無çś
Tonight the moon shines brightly,
causing me to be unable to sleep,
like a dead fish in a garden
Had to include a Taiwanese song lol. Basically on Gary's divorce emo hour playlist
Faith Hill - Cry
If I had just one moment at your expense
Maybe all my misery would be well spent, yeah
Could you cry a little?
Lie just a little
Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain
DIVORCED MOM COUNTRY LET'S GOOO.
But yeah, I imagine Gary would be shockingly calm while the reveal goes down bc he's the asshole here, what right does he have to cry and beg for forgiveness, right? But that just makes him look worse and hurts his Promised more because why are THEY the only one visible hurting here and ahhhh good shit.
Tate McRae - TIT FOR TAT
Fix your fuckin' self, kiss my ass for that
That's the best you got, where's the good one at?
Should've known you'd be the type to change
Thought I might love you again, see how I feel
Now that you're actin' like that, I never will
Tate McRae ate The Kid La-Whatever The Fuck up with that one.
Anyway, it's giving Gary's Promised in the angriest most "fuck you Gary" stage of their divorce/separation era.
Pet Shop Boys - Always on My Mind
Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could
Pet Shop Boys version and not Willie Nelson because it's giving the vibes here more.
The Avett Brothers - The Ballad of Love and Hate
Hate stumbles forward and leans in the door
Weary head hung down, eyes to the floor
He says, "Love, I'm sorry" and she says, "What for?"
"I'm yours and that's it, whatever"
"I should not have been gone for so long"
"I'm yours and that's it, forever"
"Your mine and that's it, forever"
I could write a dissertation on the differences in mood in the two "whatever's" in this song.
The song really starts out like "wow this relationship is doomed" but it comes all the way back around and you want Love and Hate to make it. And I feel like, again, if the reconciliation route it taken, this song is big inspiration for it.
Lizzy McAlpine - firearm
I get drunk with my friends
Your name never comes up
I tell strangers online
That we broke up
There's a hole in my heart and I hate that it's there
'Cause I liked to act like I really don't care
It's giving Gary's promised in their separation post-reveal era if that's a route we go down.
Lots of these songs fit vibes more one way than another, just trying to inspire/seduce someone into joining me!
Flatland Cavalry - February Snow
Your eyes glowed like candles in the night
As you wiped the freezin' tears from your eyes
I said you still love me, you said I don't know
Left me standing in the February snow
We were the couple others strive to be
Now you're just you and I'm just me
Likeeee hello??? Power couple of the Hollow has fallen like ow.
Nessa Barrett - PINS AND NEEDLES
Don't call me your ex 'cause I never met you
We've never had sex, we never got tattoos
You think you're important, boy, I got bad news
Put this on the Gary's spouse's divorce playlist lmao
Mumford & Sons - White Blank Page
A white blank page and a swelling rage, rage
You did not think when you sent me to the brink, to the brink
You desired my attention but denied my affections, my affections
So tell me now, where was my fault
In loving you with my whole heart
Another one on the divorce era rage playlist!
The Mountain Goats - No Children
And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out
You'd stay the hell out of my way
I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
THE divorce song!
Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining
And the grass, it was a ticking
And the sun was on the rise
I never felt so wicked
As when I willed our love to die
And I was your silver lining
As the story goes
I was your silver lining
But now I'm gold
It's giving Gary's spouse loving or trying to love life in their single era!
Josh Turner feat. Maddie & Tae - Desperately
Today is just another day
I make the coffee for one
I turn the radio on
Pretend that everything's okay, but
Desperately, I long to feel your touch
But you left me all alone in love
It's giving both sides of the divorce era because nobody wins, everyone is heartbroken lol
Jaedynn Latter - If Life Imitates Art
Shit, yeah, I know that I swear like a sailor
Fuck no, I can’t accept that we’re a failure
And that we just won’t get a second chance
At clueless romancing
The song that really really make me want to do this plot with somebody!! So many lyrics fit the vibes tbh. From both sides of the divorce era.
Like:
But who’s the artist and who’s the muse?
But who’s the lighter and who’s the fuse?
But who’s the judge and who pays the dues?
But who’s the victim and who’s the ruse?
But who’s the choice and who gets to choose?
Who’s like a drug and who needs the booze?
But who’s the story and who breaks the news?
But who’s the loss and who’s got things to lose?
HELLO???
And:
Shit, yeah, I’m sorry for colorful language
Fuck no, I still meant everything that I said
Including that I think you’re a good man with misunderstandings
Hell, I know too well that I can exhaust you
You said I couldn’t, but seems like I lost you
If I could just triple squeeze your hand and stick this one landing
Someone come talk to be about doing this ship, I beg of y'all lol
"Thank you," she said politely. "It should be enough." She didn't really do much with it, anyway. Maybe she should ask him about it, about how to do more with it, or how to use her talent more. She should just talk to him.
But she couldn't bring herself to do it outright. Not unprompted.
"So, um... how are things at the Hollow?" she asked, her hands folded on the table in front of her. "Are you busier now that the season is about to change?"
"The other dust-talents are very busy, they do the hard work. I just make sure everything runs smoothly. I step in wherever needed, but I run a pretty tight ship at work so everyone is good at staying on task." He explained. "No metaphorical fires to put out yet. And if there were, they must've figured it out without needing me. They try to do that-- I think they're afraid to ask me to handle things because I'm a harsh boss. They probably feel bad for Sadie and Hattie Rose, but I'm more chill with them."
"How's school going? Are you going to The States for the summer, to spend it with your parents?"
One thing about meeting up with Gary was that she always felt underdressed. There was just something about the fashion choices of some of the other fairies that made her feel like she missed the memo.
Just one more way she felt a little out of place.
"Hello," she said politely as she walked up, taking her seat. "Um... Yeah, I am. I... wear a few layers and like, thick socks. So that helps." This meeting already felt like a mess.
That…was probably not the question to ask if he wanted to actually have a conversation. He just didn’t know what to say to her. He never did.
“Good, good.” Thorns this was so awkward. Why did he have to make us weird last time by calling her his kid?
“Um—“ he reached into his pocket and put the pixie dust on the table. “It should be the same amount as last month. If you need more or — or need anything just let me know.”
