𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. @metamcrphosis - Tumblr Blog

* wilson bethel . cis man . he/him . / that’s austin hughes walking in to the lookout - you know , the thirty-eight year old lawyer known for creating a phone book full of his high school exes ? having lived here for his whole life on & off / two months , their neighbors know them to be charismatic & charming , but their deceitful & regretful tendencies shine through when there are no buses in the city .

austin hughes is a complicated man. it would be impossible to fully understand everything he's about without going a step further. so, instead of going forward, we'll be going back.

ruth alterman: ruth was the first of her family to be born on american soil. though her parents were russian jewish, she was born and raised in miami, florida. somewhere beneath the palm trees, ruth was comforted by the warmth of the sun atop the chill of the shade, but as she would look over towards her parents, she would often find them scratching their necks. they would take deep breaths and then open their mouths, as if to say something important, but they never did. instead, they would open their mouths about much less important matters, like the air that came out of their new in-window air conditioner. " it's too hot, " her father would say. " what are you talking about ? you could catch a cold in here. turn that thing off, " her mother would respond. his father would raise his eyebrows and open his mouth to say something else, but after a second, he'd simmer down, choosing to bite his lip instead. ruth would watch on in fear and anticipation, but she was always left to wonder what it is her father was desperate to say. he never would give her that satisfaction. instead, as she grew older, ruth found herself a talker, one who she vowed to never be too frigid or too fiery with. instead, she'd keep her mouth shut. and after a few years, when her father passed, some who knew him would say that she was beginning to look an awful lot like him.

frank hanford: frank grew up in a miami suburb called pinecrest. as a kid, his parents would often carry him everywhere, even long after he needed it. they'd carry him to his high chair, they'd carry him to his couch, they'd even carry him to his own bed. they'd feed him food he wasn't too fond of and when he would resist, they'd force it it in his mouth like some kind of demented train. one day, when frank was four years old, he screamed at them to stop and they listened. and from then on, frank was screaming away everywhere. at school, at home, anywhere where he felt as if no ears were facing him and no minds were prepared to take in a word he was saying. he met the shy, sweet ruth alterman sometime in high school. he wasn't sure if it was sheer attraction, the smirk he was wearing when he found out she wasn't his parents' type, or some sick mix of both. still despite his parent's protests about who she was, he simply nodded and yelled: " if you have any concerns, you're welcome to not attend the ceremony. " and so they didn't. in fact, no one from the hanfords did. and so frank and ruth moved to tallahassee in an attempt to accept what already was. but somewhere amid all the isolation, frank's voice grew louder: angrier, even, much to the detriment of his very own kid.

beth hanford: beth hanford was born to frank hanford and ruth alterman in tallahassee, florida. as a kid, the echoes of her father's voice often bounced through the halls, while her mother's silence spoke greater than her father's yelling ever did. beth would often find herself listening in her bed, with one ear pressed up against the pillow, she only used one ear to take in her father's words. still, those words were loud and clear: her mother was a mistake. tallahassee was a mistake. and though he never said the words "beth was too", he didn't have to. beth's mind would finish the thought for him. in fact, she would do that a lot, finishing thoughts. if she could anticipate responses, she could figure out what to do to avoid them, like some sort of child psychic. she moved to baton rouge as an adult to rid herself of the constant, ringing noise that came from having to listen to her father's yells all the time, but the need to anticipate another's emotions to avoid conflict? there was no ridding herself of that.

virginia daniels: virginia daniels was born in slidell, louisiana to two fisherman. as a kid, she was often stuck on a boat, where she'd take in the warmth of the sun with the chill of the swamp below, before being forced to use all her force and might to load netted bags of fish behind her. when she got home one day, she first discovered the movie "cinderella" at some drive-in with her parents. and as her eyes widened and her mouth spread into some wide, cheshire grin, she found that her face never turned away from the screen. as she grew older and the swamp trips became fewer, she found herself trying to emulate a grace she never before possessed, a grace she only saw in that famous little animated movie that put her in a trance so many years ago. in high school, she met albert hughes. with his positions on the football team and the baseball team, as well as his wide variety of friends, virginia found herself in a trance, just gazing at the man of status, just as she did at the projected screen. so when she finally met him face-to-face, it was safe to say that trance didn't stop. she married him when they were just eighteen years old and promptly moved to . but by twenty-two, she began to notice the little things: the way he never apologized after an argument, the way he never took her on dates anymore, the way he would often have to punch a football or a bag after a particularly tense day. and from then on, the ever-so-graceful virginia was pulled out of the trance once and for all.

albert hughes: albert hughes was born in slidell, louisiana to one teacher and a stay-at-home mother. while growing up, albert lived across a field, and all he had to do was open up his window to find a bunch of kids he knew playing in it. though albert would often rush to his parents to ask if he could join, his father always said no. see, the games they would often play out there involved dangerous things: tackling, throwing, sprinting, you name it. nobody wanted albert to get hurt. so instead, he'd spend his afternoons gazing out the window and getting hurt anyway. sometimes on the weekends, his mother would have him help with his sewing, and though he'd oblige, he'd always wonder what the kids outside were doing. given the choice between sewing and playing, it was a no-brainer what he would choose, if he was given the chance. however, the fact of the matter was that he wasn't. so instead, he'd pinch his mother's black thread with all his might, hoping to break it off so that he could assert himself for once. in high school, he joined the football team and the baseball team. back then, they didn't require parental signatures, so his family found out from a headline in the local paper. once he met virginia, it was if his future was set. and once they moved to lakeview and were finally on their own, albert decided to coach the kids on the nearby field, as some sort of consolation prize. however, albert never shook off his anger. the scars from having to go against yourself, though not visible, still have a tendency to sting long after the damage is done. so albert found himself growing angrier by the year, forcing his son to follow in his footsteps and refusing to apologize for what he felt was his right, for what he felt was helping. what's good for the goose isn't always good for the gander, but if it were up to albert, his kid would turn out just like him, without the extra scars.

alan hughes: alan hughes was born in lakeview, louisiana to virginia and albert hughes. as a kid, alan found himself asking to go to the petting zoo with his mother in nearby new orleans far too often to count. but though his mother always approved, his father would turn his nose up, curl his lip, hand the kid a football, and tell him to go play in the yard. as a boy, alan became a fan of bands like the carpenters, captain and tennille, etc. one day, after listening to a carpenters vinyl in the basement, his father caught him. he watched as his father's face turned a beet red, as he yelled: " i don't want you listening to this crap, do you understand me ? it's not for you. go play. " but strangely, whenever "top of the world" would come on in the car and his mother would sing along, his father never said a word. so from then on, if his father was wearing a letterman jacket, he would wear a letterman jacket. if his father was getting himself a cup of coffee for breakfast, he would get himself a cup of coffee for breakfast. if everyone else around alan was unsafe to emulate, it was safe to assume that his father was the only good option. so he pushed down any instinct he might have to emulate his father. and when he went off to play college football at florida state university and met beth in the town of tallahassee, it seemed as if things were looking up. every year, alan found himself leading his team to victory, but in his junior year, he was playing a game against the nearby gators in gainesville when a player of the opposing team rushed behind him and tackled him, shattering his wrist and ruining his national league prospects for good. " my father fucking did this. 'be aggressive', 'be hard', 'be this', 'be that'. look at me now, dad ! look at me now ! " he yelled in the hospital. " beth, if i ever turn out like my father, stop me. " he then told his wife. but as he returned to lakeview with beth to find that his cheeks had grown to a permanent shade of beet red, one that reminded him of the carpenters, teddy bears, and everything he was denied, he jumped at his own reflection.

austin hughes: and here we return to austin hughes. austin was born on october 8th of 1984 in lakeview, louisiana to beth and alan hughes. as a kid, austin found himself rummaging through his family's basement, looking for old toys of his father's that he could play with. though he didn't find any toys, he did find a carpenters cd that his mom bought his dad as a christmas gift one year. as he put it in his cd player and began to listen, he felt the vibrations of what seemed like footsteps against the carpeted staircase steps. " what are you doing ? " his father asked. austin took a second to process his question, his brows knit together in thought. " listening to music. is this carpenters cd yours ? i like it. " he responded with a smile. his father opened his mouth to say something, his face turning a strawberry pink, but just as his legs began to shake, he bit his lip. " you don't need to be listening to that. you wanna go play ? " his father asked. and so they played. austin spent a lot of his time playing. as a kid, he would smile as his father paid him extra special compliments, such as: " if you can get a backbone, i think you could play in the college leagues. would you like that ? " austin's eyes would light up as he frantically nodded. " good. you just have to promise me you won't let anyone push you around. " his father warned. so austin took that to heart.

as he entered high school, austin became the big man on campus, a title he hoped his father would be proud of. he was a wingman to some, womanizer to others, bully to the rest. in his sophomore year, his parents divorced. they both cited irreconcilable differences as a cause. in particular, his mother described an inability to predict or anticipate his desires: romantic, sexual, or otherwise. she would also go on to say that his father was "quick to anger", a claim austin found himself reflecting on as he'd ball his fist, his mind racing at a mile a minute. she moved back to florida shortly after and austin waved goodbye with a soft wrist, pointed, narrow eyes, and flared nostrils with a heavy inhale. afterwards, austin liked the way some of the cheerleaders would flock to him after a game in their little skirts. and the special thing about cheerleaders? there are always at least twelve of them. austin always had his pick. in high school, he dated four separate women, toying with all of them. it was something his father witnessed from the stands, though as austin looked up for approval, he would find his dad smiling back at him.

after high school, he was recruited by the university of texas ( in austin ), where he decided he wanted to be a lawyer. his father always told him to never let himself get shoved around, right? so what better way to avoid that than to be the one doing the shoving? after getting his bachelor's degree, he went to texas a&m to get his law degree. he was a practicing lawyer in dallas for around three years when she finally met her: ariel moore, the woman of his dreams. she was so understanding, so independent, the kind of woman austin finally saw himself settling down with. they were together for four years when they decided to have a kid and move in together. morgan rose hughes, they'd name her. but after she was born, something in ariel switched. austin would wake up to the sound of footsteps pacing back and forth across the hall. he'd find clumps of brown hair in his bed and when he'd ask about it, ariel would tell him that she pulled it out herself. one day, when morgan was just six months old, austin woke up to a post-it note on her table saying that she couldn't do it anymore. she had no idea how to raise a kid, so she was leaving, and she didn't want him following her. that's all she left: a post-it note. after nearly five years. that's all he was worth to her. and then it hit him: that's what he did to every other woman in his life. in that moment, the player became the playee. he couldn't even blame her for it. after all, he did see the warning signs. so he's been trying his best to raise her on his own ever since.

but the thing about morgan is she's about to start kindergarten soon. she's about to meet one hell of a lot of austins in her own life. and if austin doesn't put a stop to it, she'll fall victim to them, just as the previous women in his life fell victim to him. so two months ago, austin decided to take morgan and move back home to lakeview. for morgan, she could see lakeview through his young eyes. however, austin has other plans in mind. if he can meet with the "four horsewomen of the apocalypse", as he calls them, and discuss what went wrong and how exactly he screwed each and every one of them over, maybe he can protect morgan from falling for a guy who is just like him. and unlike any woman that came before, he's determined to keep his word with her.

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𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.