[Image Description: A six panel comic drawn in shades of orange, white, grayish-blue. It is sketchy. The setting is a two-lane road surrounded by grass and bushes and trees. It is a clear day save for a few clouds in the sky.
Panel 1: A happy dog is sitting obediently as its owner (off screen) takes its collar off. There is a bone tag on the collar. There are question marks above its head, but it doesn't look nervous.
Panel 2: The dog looks anxious and confused as its owner begins to walk away towards a parked car. It stands, with its tail tucked between its legs. It has more question marks above its head.
Panel 3: The car begins to drive away, the beginnings of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, with the dog chasing behind it. The dog looks scared. At the top of panel it says "Hey! Wait for me!".
Panel 4: There is more distance between the dog and the car, having picked up speed, but the dog continues to chase it. It begins to look tired, still looking scared. More exhaust trails behind the car, starting to waft above the dog's head. At the top of the panel it says "Where are you going?!".
Panel 5: There is even more distance between the dog and the car. The dog slows down, no longer running. It is tired. More exhaust trails behind the car going above the dog's head. At the top of the panel it says "Please..."
Panel 6: A bird's-eye view of the road surrounded by trees and bushes. The car is way ahead of the dog now, exhaust pouring up towards the viewer. The dog is standing still now, waiting on the road. It looks like a speck from this high up. At the bottom of the panel it says "What did I do wrong?" End ID]
At first, no one noticed him as an emergency and that was the point.
They found him in the clinic waiting room between the lunch rush and the afternoon wound-care block. He’d been placed carefully in the blue chair by the radiator. A coat lay folded over his lap. His hands rested on top of it. His hair was comb. His shoes were tied. His posture was perfect enough for him to disappear in the busy room. He sat with his knees together and his shoulders relaxed in a way that wasn't relaxation at all. His face was empty and plenty if no one looked too closely.
Romantic training did that sometimes. It made suffering pretty.
There was a note pinned to his coat. A silver safety pin through wool, paper, and the edge of his sweater beneath, because whoever left him had not bothered to check whether they were pinning fabric or skin.
Lucky saw that first and his face went blank.
“Rho.”
Rho looked up from the intake desk. “What?”
He nodded toward the blue chair. When the man didn't move, Rho’s expression changed.
The waiting room went quiet in the strange ripple-pattern of places that knew how to recognize danger late. A mother pulled her child closer. A volunteer stopped stacking cups. Someone near the coffee station whispered, “Was he there before?”
“Yes,” Dami said from the hallway.
Everyone looked at them.
Dami’s voice was flat. “Came in with a family. Four people. Left without him eleven minutes ago.”
Rho’s hands curled around the clipboard. “And you didn’t stop them?”
They shrugged lightly. “Looked like donors.”
That wasn't’t an excuse. It was an indictment.
Lucky crossed the waiting room slowly, stopping several feet from the man in the blue chair.
“Hello,” Lucky said. “My name’s Lucky. You’re at the Bartlett clinic.”
The man blinked. He didn't look up.
Lucky glanced at the note, then back at him.
“Can I remove the paper from your coat?”
The man smiled immediately, beautiful and wrong.
“If it pleases you,” he said lightly, low and breathless in the way every Romantic had been trained.
Rho swore under her breath and Dami stilled.
Lucky’s mouth tightened. “It doesn’t please me. I’m asking if you want it removed.”
The man’s smile trembled. He blinked. The script had failed.
“I don’t understand.”
“Okay,” Lucky said. “Then I won’t.”
The clinic door opened.
“No,” Kestrel said into the phone. “No public comment until counsel sees the draft. If they use the word recovery, send it back.”
She stopped. Her eyes moved once across the room.
Lucky.
Rho.
Dami.
The man in the blue chair.
The note.
She ended the call without saying goodbye.
No one spoke. The man noticed the silence before he noticed her. His posture sharpened, adjusting itself for attention. His chin lowered. His mouth softened. His hands stilled.
Kestrel crossed the room slowly. Hurrying would have made him responsible for her urgency. She stopped in front of him but to the side, not blocking his view of the door.
“What name do you want used?” she asked.
His eyes flicked to her shoes. Then her hands. Then the floor.
“Whatever you prefer.”
“No.”
His lips parted.
Kestrel’s voice stayed level. “That wasn’t a command. It was an answer. We don’t choose that for you.”
Something moved beneath his face. A tiny, trapped thing.
“I don’t know,” he whispered.
“Okay.”
Kestrel looked at the note. The safety pin had gone through the sweater. Not skin, thank God. The paper was folded once, his name written on the outside in neat blue ink.
Not his name.
A name.
Adrian.
“May I remove the note?” she asked.
The man’s hands flexed.
“I was told to keep it visible.”
“By the people who left?”
He swallowed. “Yes.”
“They’re gone.”
His eyes closed for half a second. Pain crossed his face so quickly it almost looked like relief.
“May I remove it?” Kestrel asked again.
He nodded.
She unfastened the safety pin with hands steady enough to make the whole room colder. She removed the paper from his coat. Then she folded the pin closed and set it on the side table instead of keeping it.
Small things mattered. Sharp things mattered. Ownership hid in small, sharp things.
The man watched the safety pin like it might be returned to him as punishment.
Kestrel unfolded the note. Rho stepped closer. Lucky did not. Dami looked at her face.
The note was short. That made it worse.
To whom it may concern,
This is Adrian. He belonged to our father, Daniel Whitcomb, who passed last month. Adrian is trained Romantic and light Domestic. He is well behaved but emotionally dependent and no longer appropriate for our household. We understand your Foundation works with displaced persons and difficult cases.
Please do not contact us regarding return. We are not interested in reclaiming him. His documents are in the envelope in his coat pocket. He has no known medical conditions except occasional hysteria and poor appetite when ignored.
He responds best to firm affection and routine.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kestrel read it once.
Only once.
Her face did not change.
Rho’s eyes filled with furious tears. Lucky looked away toward the clinic windows, jaw tight. Dami’s hands closed at their sides.
The man in the chair smiled up at Kestrel like he was waiting for her to decide whether the note had lowered his value beyond use.
Kestrel folded the paper along its original crease. Then folded it again. Then put it in her coat pocket.
“Lucky,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Medical intake. Not in this room.”
Lucky nodded. “Adrian, can you stand?”
The man’s eyes moved to her.
“You can answer him.”
He swallowed. “Yes.”
“Do you want to?”
That question broke something. His hands lost their perfect stillness
“I don’t know what happens if I don’t.”
Lucky’s voice stayed even. “Then you sit in the chair until you decide, unless there’s a medical emergency.”
The man stared at him.
“I’m getting tea,” Rho said. “I’m going to make tea available. He doesn’t have to drink it.”
The man’s gaze moved between them, terrified by every ordinary adjustment made around his will.
Dami stepped closer to Kestrel. “Where are you going?”
Kestrel did not look at them.
“Out.”
“Kes.”
She turned. Dami stopped. Whatever they saw in her face made them step back.
Wick chose that moment to arrive from the hall, moving carefully on his crutches because the clinic’s elevator was down again and he’d made bad decisions about stairs. He took in the room the way Kestrel had.
The man in the blue chair.
Lucky beside him.
Rho at the counter, shaking with anger.
Dami silent.
Kestrel with nothing in her hands and a note in her pocket.
His face changed.
“Kestrel,” he said softly.
She didn't look at him for long. It was long enough. Not long.
Jack hasn't abandoned me, not in a discernible way. Perhaps the way gods abandon their creation - W
When a human abandons you , its clear they leave.They stop calling , they say they are done.
But when a god abandons its creation , its different. The god doesn't disappear. The world is still there. But the god stops intervening , stops listening and stops caring.
Its more cruel kind of abandonment cuz it looks like he is still there , but his help and care are gone.
How can I explain to my friends that Hannibal is more than just a thriller, it's a source of profound philosophical enlightenment?
I can't recall exactly which episode Will said this in — please help me.
do you hear INTO DUST BY MAZZY STAR playing? oh, that must be STEVIE DELGADO breezing by. i don’t know if you recognize them, but they look like MAIA REFICCO to me. i heard that SHE has been in town for TWENTY THREE YEARS, which is crazy considering they are TWENTY SEVEN years old. yeah, they live over on PENNY LANE, and i heard that they work as a MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHER ( IN TOWN ). i love that they remind me of SMUDGED LINER AND A FAR OFF STARE, A DUSTY OLD YEARBOOK WITH HER PHOTO SCRATCHED OUT, A ROTATION OF VINTAGE LEATHER JACKETS, A CLOUD OF NICOTINE DISGUISING ANY CRACK IN ARMOUR, WIRED EARPHONES IN AN UNORGANIZED BAG but … ugh, their playlist is so weird. why are ALL MY FRIENDS and AT THE RIVER, in the queue?
full name : stevie delgado \ birthplace : bayharbor, maine \ birthday & zodiac : november 17th, scorpio \ parentage : catalina lopez ( estranged ), luis delgado ( strained ) \ sibling(s) : younger brother, hendrix delgado ( deceased ) \ occupation : music photographer \ relationship status : single \ gender identity : cis female ( she / her ) \ sexual orientation : pansexual \ faceclaim : maia reficco.
backstory.
trigger warnings include : grief, death, addiction, overdose, and abandonment.
her mother named her after stevie nicks and then left not long after. evelyn duvall used to be wild. the kind of woman who toured with bands in her twenties, lived out of a suitcase, called music her first ( and perhaps only ) love. motherhood was never really in the plan, and yet she found herself birthing two. when the road came calling again, she didn't hesitate to answer. soon packed a duffel and disappeared when stevie was only four, her younger brother barley turning two. all she left behind was a crate of old records and a stack of handwritten letters that never felt real. stevie swears she feels nothing when it comes to her mothers abandonment, yet she's kept every letter despite never reading them.
her family moved to cider point after that, hoping for a fresh start. james duvall was a quiet man often battling his own demons. he worked long hours as a fisherman, a job that he hated. from a young age he put stevie on an impossible pedestal. said she would be the one to make it. give their family the stability it so desperately needed. the pressure felt like love sometimes. others, like a cage. how was she supposed to provide any type of stability when she'd never been shown what that looked like ?
by the time she was a teenager, it felt like she was about to explode. she began setting fires to just about everything in her life. but while she was running around trying to fix her own messes, she was still burdened with the responsibility of keeping the men in her life afloat. hendrix was now an addict she fought hard to get clean. and her father . . . well, he failed to commit to anyone after his estranged wives departure. something the women of cider point would could to find out.
for stevie, getting out was no longer just a want. it was a need.
and she did. halfway across the country. creative, sharp, and everything she was supposed to be. she even took a gap year, touring with a band she met along the way before returning to her studies. everything was going well . . . too well. but then her brother overdosed. the worst part being that her father didn’t tell her. he said it would've been too much for her to handle. that she had her whole life ahead of her. as if grief was something that could be scheduled according to his will. she found out the morning of the funeral, when texts of sympathy began to flood in. confused, angry, and out of her mind, she rushed home. but by the time she got there the sun was rising for a new day. she was too late.
the anger that consumed her was so big it still lingers to this day. she can't look at her father without feeling the betrayal creeping back in. still, she cleans up his mess with her eyes cast to the ground. barley speaking a word to him unless it's to tell him how much she hates him. something she knows she shouldn't do considering how short life now seems to be, but she can't help herself. if he was so willing to break her heart, why should she spare his ?
she hasn't left since. sleeps in her aunt’s spare room, pulls her weight, pays her way. she doesn’t talk about what happened. still flinches whenever someone mentions her brothers name. people like to assume why she wasn't there, at the funeral of the brother she'd always loved more than anyone else. but no one knows the full story, and she doesn't feel like she'll ever be ready to talk about it. to accept that he's really gone. in a lot of ways, she blames herself. maybe that's why she's on a fast-track mission to fuck up her own life.
it all feels pretty meaningless now anyway.
personality.
stevie is messy, but a lot more self-aware than people might think. she has a sharp tongue, but behind it is a heart that she keeps guarded as best she can. due to her past, she doesn’t trust that happiness lasts, so she doesn’t hold onto it for very long. often finds herself drawn to broken things and people, mostly because she sees herself in them. a fun time girl in the moment, but a disaster waiting to happen in the long run.
well, well, well… if it isn’t DELILAH ROSE MONTCLAIR, the TWENTY-NINE year old WAITSTUFF AT ROSIE'S DINER, who is best known around town for FOR BEING THE DAUGHTER WHO FOUND OUT HER FATHER HAS ANOTHER FAMILY. apparently they’ve been living in UPTOWN for TWENTY NINE YEARS and according to word on the street they are PRO-PRESERVATION. i’ve heard that they are quite KIND & STUBBORN, and if their life had a theme song it would be NO ANGELS by BASTILLE.
general details.
full name: delilah rose montclair
nickname(s): lilah, rosie
age: twenty nine
date of birth: january 30th, 1997
place of birth: sedona, arizona
current location: sedona, arizona
gender: female
pronouns: she / her
sexual orientation: heterosexual.
occupation: waitstuff at rosie's diner.
physical appearance.
faceclaim: elle chapman.
hair color and style: warm honey blonde with soft golden undertones. her hair is naturally thick, usually worn in long, loose waves with a center part, though she often throws it into a messy ponytail or claw clip when working at the diner.
complexion: fair with a sun-kissed glow, a few freckles appear across her nose and cheeks after spending time outdoors.
eye color: blue with hints of green and amber that seem to change depending on the light.
height: 5’7” (170 cm)
weight: 125 lbs (57 kg).
tattoos: none.
piercings: standard lobe piercings, usually wearing small gold hoops or delicate studs.
signature scent: fresh citrus, orange blossom, warm vanilla, and soft sandalwood with a hint of sea salt.
negative traits: guarded, stubborn, overprotective, skeptical, emotionally avoidant, takes on too much responsibility, struggles to ask for help, holds grudges longer than she’d like to admit.
habits: bites the inside of her cheek when she's nervous, twirls rings around her fingers, hums softly without noticing, and keeps emergency supplies in her bag.
hogwarts house: hufflepuff.
family.
mother: kathryn montclair (alive - 50+)
father: paul jones (alive - 50+)
sibling(s): hazel leah jones (sister, alive - 31+), olivia jones (half-sister, alive - 32+), patrick jones, (half-brother, alive - 33+), robert jones (half-brother, alive - 35+)
delilah rose montclair is the second daughter of kathryn and her husband, paul, named in honour of her grandmother, rosie montclair; a woman cherished by nearly everyone in sedona for her warmth, generosity, and unforgettable cooking. their father traveled a lot for business, sometimes for weeks or months, and yet, he'd always come back; showering them all with gifts.
while he was gone, the small diner was their second home, as delilah and her sister would spend almost all of their time there after school, doing homework or helping around from a young age. their life was quiet and happy. there was never a sign that something was wrong, their dad was always there for the important moments, school recitals, prom, or graduations. he adored his girls and they adored him.
and then, delilah came across something she never expected to see. she was only twenty-three when she found a photo of her dad on a random person's social media page. he was smiling, he looked happy, but something was off. the name on the profile, didn't match. they called him dad. but he was her dad, and he had his arm around another woman's waist, smiling with what delilah later realised were his children. it didn't take long for reality to catch up with her. only the nightmare didn't end there; it came with the realization that her mother, herself and her sister were the secret family.
her dad, her hero, was a liar. their whole life was a life. and just like that, everything came crashing down. her family found out. half of the town found out.. and by the time he came back, delilah and her sister had already legally changed their name and completely cut him off their lives. it felt like the right thing to do, despite the void that it left her with.
ever since, delilah helps her mother in the diner. the business is supposed to pass down to her, and that alone had given her a reason to put most of her focus on keeping her grandmother's dream alive. she bought a small two-bedroom apartment uptown, and tried her best to live a quiet life, though some of her choices are... questionable already.
I was going to make a joke post saying "If Batman is bat themed because of his fear of bats then i'd be an abandonment themed superhero".
Then I realized "Abandon" feels like it be the name of a 90's superhero whose a d lister nowadays but in the 90s had a 100 issue solo series. They'd also probably be either a X Men or Batman character.
Etho woke up one morning without Tango next to him so Etho panicked and ran to hungry hermits but he wasnt there so Etho went to Skizz' and Impulse's and still no sign of Tango.
Until he hears Tango talk behind him, "You ok? I just went out for some fresh air and I just hear you running so what's wrong?" Tango says, Etho stares at him relived and just hugs him very tight. "Don't leave me ever please." Etho says.
That day was when Tango realized Etho has abandonment issues and needs to be careful when leaving Etho alone so now when Tango leaves the house he asks Etho if he wants to come and always lets him know when he is leaving.
-🦗
They have to spend a while figuring out their boundaries together but they're at a good place now. It helps to plan time apart in advance, so Etho can hang out with others or find something else to do without stressing. If Tango ever leaves suddenly, even for just a walk, he makes sure to leave a message or note. They've got a sign just for that purpose, so it's always the first place Etho can check before panicking.
Melancholy Lyrics Starters
For messy, complicated, cold shoulder, or vulnerable situations. As always, change pronouns/details/add or warp context as needed.
"You think it's so easy, fucking with my feelings."
"Don't be afraid, the shadows know me."
"I'm at one, and I've been quiet for too long."
"I'm getting too high for my own good."
"Surrounded, but still alone..."
"I want someone to love, That's what I fuckin' want!"
"All your friends are Verified, acting like they're first in line."
"Body for a body, I'm so petty."
"I know I've only felt religion when I've lied with you."
"That's not who we are, We are not 'Beautiful.' "
"The truth is up for you to define."
"I wonder if he got the G or the B."
"Even almost got married..."
"I was always by your side."
"Now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means."
"Let's leave the world behind."
"I hope that you choose to be mine."
"We don't fit in well, we are just ourselves."
"I get so mad that we're not together."
"You say you love me but I Don't Care."
"It doesn't matter where you are."
"I found peace in your violence."
"I'll give you the illusion of feeling love."
"666 with a princess streak."
"All my love's counterfeit, unless you're coming over."
"I wish that you had hurt me harder than I hurt you."
"I just kicked a girl out, I barely even know her."
"You were just a downtown socialite, ship I pass on summer nights, shadow that I can't define."
"If this is your life, then all that matters lives in your mind."
"I got nothing but time for you."
"Loving never gave me a home."
"I know it's hard to let go, I'm the best."
"They won't need to know our names or our faces, but they will carry on for us."
"I'm afraid that I'm'a fuck it up."
"This should be the last time that you leave without me, and the last time you call me 'a friend.' "
"You just gotta choose if you're serious."
"I make up lies inside my head, like 'one day you'll come back to me.' "
"Let's leave the party."
"Wish I could say thank you to him, cause he was an angel."
"Cause _____ name is [their own name], and I'm so good with that."
"You are the remedy."
"If they laugh, then fuck 'em all."
"Isn't it lovely? All alone."
"Feeling so high, but too faraway to hold me."
"If you're in hell, I'll go there, too."
"Every day goes by, I wish I was in your bed."
"I got over what you did already."
"I'll give them shelter like you've done for me."
"I wonder who your friends are, where you go, who you know now?"
"I'm gonna get everything I've been dreaming."
"I don't like the vibes that I feel when I'm sober, I hate the next morning when I wake up and it's over."
"You know I'm the one who put you up there."
"If that's really so wrong, then they don't know what this feeling is like."
"Do you think of my voice when your city gets colder?"
"I believe that loneliness is my disease."
"Have you noticed I've been gone?"
"I've learned from the pain, and turned out amazing."
"You look stunning dear, so don't ask that question here."
"I"m in love with the past."
"If I wasn't me, I'd copy me too."
"Just so you could take advantage of me."
"This just don't feel right to me."
"If you love it, if you hate it, I don't fucking care what you think."
"Need an adversary to my down to marry."
"I'll be fucked up if you can't be right here."
"I've loved and I've lost, but that's not what I see."
"Someone you don't have to change."
"I only asked you to show me a real good time."
"I hope someday I'll make it out of here."
"I'll hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old."
"Name in the sky, does it ever get lonely?"
"Now I'm so amazing."
"You told me love don't exist, and if it does it doesn't last long."
"It's a long way forward, so trust in me."
"You did me wrong cause I let you."
"I got one coming over, and one right now."
"I want to see you smile but, know that means I'll have to leave."
"Tell me how it feels, sitting up there."
"Didn't wanna hurt no one, but you just went and made it fun."
