#evan bannister

[ashencreations]

Ash and Evan; pony edition

Want something like this? Commission me here!

For the love of God, please commission me, I want to help my family buy food

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@too-much-btd-stuff

@fearfulbeast

[fusion-ego]

5 and 1 with Ash and Evvy

(Psst, prompts are from this Two-Part Drabble Game)

Situation #5: Home after the hospital

Sentences #1: "You didn't have to scare me like that."

------

Ash is still shaking a little bit when she gets Evan to sit down on the couch. Her eyes keep catching on the admission bracelet peeking from beneath his long sleeves, and her breath catches in her lungs all over again.

The silence between them is oppressive ―‌ a far cry from the usual comfortable quiet. She wants to say something, but she's not sure what there is to say. Evan doesn't meet her eyes as she watches his face.

He settles in with a minor wince, breath hardly catching at the pain.

She wonders, maybe for the first time, she isn't sure if it is, how much pain he's gone through in his life that he can shrug this off without so much as a hiss or squeezing his eyes shut. That he can sit down anywhere, lean against anything, with three broken ribs and not even whimper.

She's been through plenty herself, but she still has to grit her teeth through every injury worse than a papercut ―‌ forget broken ribs, she'd cry if she so much as bruised one too badly.

But Evan hadn't really even batted an eyelash at it, not even when he was told there was not one broken rib, but three of them. He hadn't seemed surprised, or bothered.

She knows Lochy can heal him when she gets home from work if he wants her to. She knows he'll be okay in the end.

But she's scared.

She's not even sure what the exact reasons are at this point.

She's scared because he got hurt, she knows that. She's scared because he's hardly even reacting to something that would probably be debilitating to anyone else. But there's so much else and she can't parse any of it out.

What comes out of her mouth after several moments of thick, suffocating silence is, "You didn't have to scare me like that."

She regrets it immediately, because after everything today that's what makes Evan flinch like he's been struck.

She shouldn't have said it anyway ―‌ shouldn't guilt him for something that isn't his fault. She wants to apologize.

She's hardly opened her mouth to do so when Evan says, small and still not meeting her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"No," She says, too forcefully, and both of them flinch. She tries again, gentler but no less earnest, "No, no, Evvy baby, don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I just ―‌ you scared me. You're hurt and that's... You never get hurt."

Evan doesn't reply.

He sits there and worries his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes glued to the carpet somewhere far off to her right. She swallows and she watches him and she bites her own lip.

"Does it hurt?" She finally asks.

"No worse than the first time did," He says, a little absently, and she gasps just before his eyes go wide and he clamps his mouth shut and flinches.

"The first time?" She asks, horrified.

She didn't know he'd had broken ribs before. It had to have happened before they ran away together, or she would have known. It had to have happened while he lived with his dad.

The fear drains out of her all at once, replaced with a seething protective rage she imagines isn't unlike how he feels whenever she's threatened or hurt.

As if what she already knew about that piece of human garbage had done hadn't made her hate him enough, the very idea of him actually physically hurting Evan makes her want to track him down and personally put him through something so much worse. But she grits her teeth and takes a slow breath and tells herself, not now.

There's a time and a place for full-blown homicidal rage.

"Evvy," She says, when he doesn't answer for a long moment, "When was the first time?"

She can tell he doesn't want to talk about it ―‌ if he doesn't say anything, she'll drop it. But she needs to know. She needs to.

Evan takes a breath, stunted and short, and he flinches just a little bit. She flinches in response. She hates seeing him in pain.

He shrugs, finally, and says, "I was fourteen."

She sees red and has to clench her fists and dig her nails into her palms to keep from doing anything. She takes a few deep breaths and swallows. Keep calm. Keep control.

After a moment, while she's still trying to calm herself down so she doesn't do anything stupid and scare him, he adds, "I guess I forgot I never told you."

Which is Evan-speak for "the experience was deeply traumatic and I've been keeping it locked up in the back of my head this whole time".

"It's okay," She tells him, as gently as she can, "You don't have to talk about it."

He seems to relax a little, closing his eyes. "Okay."

She takes another breath. She sits down next to him. She lays a hand on his thigh and he covers her hand with his own almost immediately. They twine their fingers together.

She'll figure something out for the bastard who broke his ribs this time later. And she'll try to put wondering what happened the first time as far out of her mind as possible.

"Do you want me to get you some pain meds?"

They didn't get the ones he was prescribed ―‌ they both knew the likelihood they'd be used was low. But they have some left over from the last time one of them went in with a bad enough injury to warrant a hospital visit.

"No," He says, like it's obvious.

Coming from Evan, she guesses it probably is a given that he wouldn't want any. He hates taking pain medication.

"Okay," She says, "Lochy should be home soon."

He hums.

They sit in silence.

[fusion-ego]

Ash in the most ridiculous scenario you can think of

I like to call this one “Werewolf Ash and the Absolute Audacity of This Box”

—-

“Eeeeeevvvaaaaaaaaaan,” Came Ash’s voice, from somewhere down the hall.

Evan could only sigh, shaking his head as he got up from his work bench. What could she have gotten herself into now? Lord knew his wife had a tendency to be a little less than careful about things she probably ought to be very careful about.

He walks into the spare room fully expecting her to be surrounded by something broken, or struggling to pick up something heavy without dropping it on her one good foot. These are both things he has been called in to assist her with since they first moved in together almost a decade ago, and they’re not exactly infrequent. Darling she is, she forgets her strength or the limits of it often.

He doesn’t mind helping, of course.

But when he walks into the spare room, he does not see either of those scenarios laid out before him. He does not even see the slightly less common scene of her puzzling over something to toss out.

No, no.

Instead, he sees her in wolf form.

Or, rather, he sees her wolfy butt.

He stands in the doorway a moment, blinking and trying to process. The scene before him mostly stays the same, save for Ash’s wiggling. So he just watches.

“Evan?” She calls again, and he understands suddenly why her voice sounded so muffled.

She has, somehow, God fucking bless her, managed to get her entire upper half stuck in a box.

“I--” He begins, “Baby, how?”

“The chew toy you bought me as a joke when we first moved in together was in here,” She explains almost mournfully, “And wolf brain said pounce so I did.”

“... And then?”

“... And then I tried to back out of it and my floof pulled the box shut around me since all the top parts were folded slightly inward...”

Putting his face in his hand, Evan can only laugh. Only Ash.

Only Ash.

Still snickering, he makes his way to the box and his ridiculous wife. He presses the folds of the box inward, snug against the sides, and Ash pops out and shakes herself off. Even in wolf form she manages to look embarrassed, especially when she moves to back up a little further away from the box and almost falls because she’s unbalanced.

Evan removes the old chew toy from the box, as well, and holds it up in question.

Which, of course, leads to the two of them playing fetch and tug-of-war with it for the next three hours.

[fusion-ego]

Obligatory oc ask game ask, do all of them for Evvy B

And Ash if you wanna (your interpretation of her, don't cheat by asking me)

Part whatever-the-fuck of Soren killing me via oc ask games lmao

Under the cut for excessive length.

🐶 What would your OC do if they were chased by a dog?

Evan, having as much experience with dogs as he does because of Ash's habit of fostering them, would probably just stand there and get bowled over or jumped on. Mirage probably jumps on him and chases him around enough that he overall just responds by blinking and staring the dog down when one runs at him, whether it's being aggressive or not.

As for Ash, I feel like she responds to any dog running her direction with immediate and full-fledged delight and a shout of, "Puppy!" Given that book-canon Ash can speak to dogs, I also don't think she'd have any issues with aggressive ones.

💋 How would they react to getting a kiss? (can be platonic or romantic)

Evan would react to a romantic kiss (like on the mouth) from anyone but Ash with flabbergasted acceptance. Wouldn't even remotely understand what they see in him to warrant it, but wouldn't be necessarily opposed to one kiss as long as he's not in a committed relationship to Ash at the time - he'd object to anything further, though. Then again, we both know he's gone for Ash and nobody else even if she's not present in a universe so it's probably not a surprise, lol. A platonic smooch (like on the forehead, cheek, hand, etc) would probably get a different response depending on who from! Loch gives lots of forehead kisses, and Tobi probably gives cheek kisses, so from them he's probably fine with it and has little reaction aside from maybe a little half-smile. Otherwise, he probably would just kind of accept it but, like a romantic one, not understand why it happened.

For Ash, I think it'd depend on who the kiss is from regardless of romantic/platonic intention! I think she's okay with romantic ones from people she's shown interest in (i.e., Evan) and has given permission for, but I think she'd jackslap the shit out of somebody for just planting one on her! Where Evan is just confused even if he didn't give explicit consent for a kiss, Ash will throw down if she didn't give explicit consent for a kiss. Or yell for Evan, depending. Platonic, though, I think is a lot like Evan! Generally she probably accepts them from people she trusts, though, while Evan allows them from whoever because he's more comfortable with physical touch from random people than she probably is.

🌲 What would your OC do in a Minecraft world/server?

Evan seems like the type to have his own Creative mode world where he just builds cave houses and floating cities and a bunch of elaborate junk that he saw on the internet and wanted to replicate.

Ash I think would maybe hang out in Evan’s world and build like, axolotl aquariums and stuff? Random projects much like his, but stuff she likes.

🎤 Can your OC sing?

Evan? Oo, probably not, tbh. Like he probably has a decent enough voice but I don’t think this man can carry a tune, y’know? He’d make for good back-up vocals, but he shouldn’t be the melody man lol. Like he’s got a deep rumbly sort of voice I think and that would back up Ash’s or anyone else’s pretty well.

I swear we have established that she can? But I don’t know if we established if she’s good at it! I think she would be, but like, in the “I can sing when I’m alone with my husband or just making up little tunes or singing songs I like when no one’s listening, but the second I try to do it in front of people, especially ones I don’t trust, my voice doesn’t work anymore” kind of way

💃 Can your OC dance?

He has two left feet and I will not take criticism on this

Ash probably can, but not like... Ballroom stuff? She dances and has fun with it you know? (Evan is still bad at it when he’s just dancing around but the point is to have fun with his wife usually and he excels at that part).

📚 Would your OC cheat in an exam?

If you think he didn’t have to cheat his way through at least two of his high school classes in order to graduate on time, you’re wrong. He will cheat on any exam if it’s required and he doesn’t know the material.

I think if Ash was really desperate to get a decent grade, maybe. But probably not. She seems like she’d be pretty determined to get it without cheating.

⚡ What mythological god would you associate with your OC?

Oo, tough one! Hear me out here though - Evan and Sehkmet. Sure, she’s a war goddess (and a goddess) but literally her job was to destroy Ra’s enemies in battle, and she was also a goddess of healing! That feels pretty Evan-y to me.

Ash, though. Hm... Maybe Janus? He’s the god of doorways, crossroads, duality, and beginnings, all of which feel pretty accurate to Ash, to me.

🎬 What genre would your OC be into?

Evan almost feels like he wouldn’t really watch movies, to be honest. But I don’t think he’d have a preferred genre, overall, even if he does watch movies ― he watches what catches his attention.

Ash seems like a fantasy/sci-fi, mystery/thriller type to me!

✨ What kind of aesthetic do they like?

Evan is almost 100% guaranteed to like grunge aesthetic. Maybe cottagecore too, to an extent, but sh. He doesn’t want anyone but Ash to know about that one.

Ash seems pretty much like she’d be into cottagecore, with maybe some horror/cutesy aesthetics mixed in, all in one. Like. Pastel goth cottagecore, I guess? With lots of skulls and lavender.

✊ Would your OC win in a fight against an ostrich?

Is the ostrich threatening Ash? If yes, then yes, he will destroy that ostrich. If no, nah, he’ll run, he’s not too proud to surrender.

No, no she would not.

🐾 (If human) If they were to turn into an animal, what animal would they be?

I know we make tons of connections between Evan and bears, wolves, lions, etc, but real shit I think he’d be a cheetah or, like, a domesticated canine of some sort. Probably a golden retriever or great Pyrenees.

Again, I know we make Ash and rabbit/bunny connections all the time, but I feel like she’d be a hyena!

🦄 (If human) If they were to turn into a mythical creature, what mythical creature would they be?

So, we have werewolf Evan and shadow demon Evan and even hellhound Evan AUs but I need you to consider: merman or siren Ev.

Ash is 100% a fae.

💌 How would they react to a confession?

I honestly do not think that Evan would believe a confession. I think he’d probably assume you were either joking or screwing with him, and he’d be rather put out but not necessarily angry about it. If you insisted you were telling the truth he might eventually give in to the idea that you’re not screwing with him, but it’s hard telling where it would go from there, especially if he isn’t with Ash. He’s a very skeptical guy and he has a hard time believing people can like him, let alone love him, if they haven’t already known him for a very long time.

Pretty sure Ash would first stand there processing, then turn red, then be either flattered or annoyed depending on how she feels about the person who’s confessing. If she’s not with Evan she might even give a person she likes a chance.

💗 How would they confess?

Well, canonically speaking, Evan confessed to Ash (and would likely confess to anybody else) by messaging her while she was offline and then going MIA for like 24 hours to panic about it. I really don’t think that would change even if he wasn’t with Ash ― he would find a way to tell them without saying it to their face and then not be available to reply to them for a good, long few hours. (Not important, but this would have been Yahoo chat/Skype/MSN-era when he confessed to Ash, which makes it funnier to me somehow because I remember that shit)

I think Ash would be bashful, but overall pretty straightforward! I think she’d work up the courage and eventually just say it, and let the pieces lay where they fell.

💀 If they were one of the 7 sins, what sin would they be?

Evan is Wrath, hands down.

Ash, though... Probably Envy, because she doesn’t give me the feeling of Greed or any of the others.

💘 What kind of person is their ideal type?

Kind, funny, caring, creative, independent, willing to let him do the heavy lifting but also willing to take him to task when necessary and get things done themself without his intervention. So, basically, Ash.

Ash seems to look for strong, semi-aloof people who care very deeply when they care, but have trouble showing it. Her type seems to be either tough, self-confident and borderline egomaniacal people or deeply vulnerable people who are trying to hide how hurt they really are beneath something else. Sometimes it’s both at once.

🎁 What kind of gift would they give at birthdays?

Evan is the type to give people things he thought they’d find cool ― a video game he thinks they’d enjoy, a wood carving he made that reminded him of them, etc. He’s definitely sentimental about it, but keeps it simple. There’s no wild rush to find the perfect gift, either, because he usually has a handful of things in his possession or marked out to buy already by the time getting a present becomes necessary.

To an extent Ash seems like she’s that way, too, but she seems more likely to go out of her way to make something for someone instead of giving them something she already made that she thought they’d like. I’m thinking paintings, stuffies, things like that, special-made for that person.

👹 How much patience does you OC have? Are they patient? Or are they easily irritable?

It depends ― Evan can be among the most patient people on the planet, if only because he learned to wait quietly while living with his dad and during his brief run as a petty thief during high school. However, there are some things that make him easily irritable, primarily certain situations or behaviors that get his heart beating a little faster and get his brain starting to spin.

Ash seems like she’s incredibly patient... Right up until the moment that she isn’t. And while Evan’s irritability/patience can seem like a roulette wheel at times when you’re still figuring it out, it’s probably far harder to predict when the turnover is for her, and how badly she’s going to react once she’s reached her limit.

☠ How petty are they? And what length of pettiness would they go for?

Evan is incredibly, unbelievably petty. He is wave the money he got from hocking your family heirlooms at the local pawn ship in your face petty. He is break into your house and steal all of your right shoes after you said something mean about his wife petty. He is “if you were on fire in front of me, I wouldn’t even piss on you to put you out if you’ve set me off in the past” petty.

Ash seems like she can be pretty petty? I think she’s mostly a pretty mild level of it, though. Like... Post pictures of her lovely, expensive vacation publicly after accepting a friend request from somebody who was mean to her in high school to flex on them petty.

🔪 (More than one OC) If your all of your OCs played among us, who'd be the best imposter? And who'd be the worst?

I’m not doing everybody but I’ll do the Villain Squad for this one.

Lochlier is the best imposter by virtue of her experience with lying with a straight face. Evan is the worst because he gets kinda giggly when he’s imposter and gives himself away. Ash and Tobi are both somewhere in the middle cuz they can be very good, very competent imposters half the time and total shitposters the other half.

🛌 What kind of sleep schedule does your OC have?

If Ash is around, Evan sleeps every night and gets roughly the recommended amount of sleep. If not, he ranges between 14 hour depression naps, sleeping regularly, and not sleeping at all unless he absolutely has to. It’s an anxiety thing. He sits up genuinely concerned that she’ll die or get hurt and he won’t find out until it’s too late.

Ash seems like she does her best to try and sleep every night, but sometimes she may just lay in bed with Evan for hours at a time before she can fall asleep. But she makes an honest effort, even if Evan isn’t around.

🍽 What kind of food do they like?

Evan likes pretty much anything as a result of his, ah, food-related trauma from his childhood. He’s pretty fond of stuff like chicken noodle soup and he really likes chili! He’s especially fond of Tobi’s chili because he loves stuff with a lot of flavor.

Ash seems like she probably likes stuff that isn’t super overly flavorful, probably not a huge fan of salty foods and maybe more into savory stuff? I bet she’d demolish a rack of ribs though.

🍻 Do they drink? If so, how strong is their alcohol tolerance?

Evan is probably at most a social drinker. He may have a drink or two with someone who drinks, or drink at social functions where alcohol is served, but I don’t think he’s overly fond of alcohol. He’s probably a huge lightweight because of how rarely he drinks, but that doesn’t stop him from ordering drinks that are 99% alcohol when he does drink... Because mixed drinks taste better and he hates beer. He gets trashed off two drinks and cries about his wife. Have you met her, by the way? She’s so wonderful, he loves her to pieces.

I think Ash avoids alcohol, but tolerates Evan occasionally partaking because it isn’t a problem health-wise (aside from him continually forgetting his limit an getting trashed) and he doesn’t do it at home or without prompting.

🍺 If your OC drinks, what is their go to alcohol?

Evan’s go to, when he drinks, is probably a vodka cranberry, screwdriver, or mudslide ― always a mixed drink, because he despises the smell and taste of beer. He doesn’t drink often enough to have a be-all, end-all favorite drink, but yeah definitely always a mixed drink and never beer. He had a Jaeger Bomb once and hated every second of it, though, by the way.

[fusion-ego]

ALL OF THEM WITH EVAN

this is so, so, so many months late. it may be years late. i don't remember what ask game this was i have had this in my drafts for SO LONG

👪 Family

Evan’s biological family isn’t much to talk about - his father, Trent Bannister, is a wealthy-esque, well-known man in Henrico County and the surrounding areas, and his mother, Vivian Harper-Bannister, was a gentle and kind soul also well-known until her ‘disappearance’ when Evan was very young. Evan still loves his mother very much, but has nothing but a cold, festering contempt for his father.

His chosen family, on the other hand, is one he adores with all his heart. There are Tobi and Lochlier, who he regards as older siblings moreso than parents, but still does regard in that manner at times, particularly when he’s feeling particularly vulnerable. There is also his wife, Ash, who he has all the love and respect in the world for and would happily leave the rest of the world to die for the sake of. Later, there are the additions of Ava and Aiden Lyall, who he regards as his niece and nephew and loves as much as he loves their parents, and also the addition of River, his child who he would also leave the rest of the world to die for the sake of, although raising them is also somewhat difficult for him as he attempts to properly manage his anger and tries to keep from being too harsh in spite of the way he was raised.

👶 Childhood

Evan’s childhood wasn’t standard, nor was it healthy. He spent the years his mother was around in a somewhat normal family arrangement, although his father began to become abusive not long after his third birthday. After his mother’s death at the hands of his father, things only got worse, leading to him spending his adolescence having to live off of scraps he got from friends or managed to steal out of his father’s cabinets as withholding food became a common punishment. This combined with the physical altercations they had, well... It led to an angry young man who likely would have snapped if not for the intervention of Loch and Ash.

🎓 Education

Evan did well in school despite his shitty home life, and his worst problems usually came from having an issue with authority figures and getting into fights with the ones who set him off badly enough. Despite eventually running away from his father’s home, he did manage to graduate high school on time from JR Tucker High School (commonly nicknamed Tucker), and though he planned on attending a trade school, he never ended up doing it as life inevitably got in the way.

🏠 Hometown

Evan grew up in Henrico County, Virginia. He doesn’t think much of the place and doesn’t really have any connections to it aside from the friends that still live there or still live in the area after he moved. He is eternally amused by and never gets over the fact that Henrico County has no real towns in it, just Census-Designated areas with names.

🙏 Religious views

Evan isn’t religious, and is mostly agnostic rather than atheist as he chooses to acknowledge there’s probably a higher power somewhere in charge of this shit and is accepting and supportive of his wife’s spirituality. Personally, however, he believes that whatever higher power there is shouldn’t be worshipped because whatever is in control clearly doesn’t care about the world it created or the people in it. Alternatively, he also sometimes imagines that whatever higher power there is probably died millennia ago.

👍 Strengths

Evan has many strengths - including physical strength. In spite of the way he was raised and how he was treated, he manages to maintain a mostly-calm demeanor most times, if not a totally blank one, and this takes effort and is done in order to avoid snapping. He is skilled in wood-carving and metal-working, and is a very quick study when he has to learn new things. He's very good at following orders, provided he respects you enough to take orders in the first place.

👎 Weaknesses

He has issues admitting it when he needs help, and he has bottled up all of his trauma and shoved it so far out of his mind that the occasions that he remembers it without a buffer will usually lead to a full-fledged breakdown he has no control over. He blocks out what he can and processes what very little he can stomach very slowly and doesn’t make a whole lot of effort towards resolving his issues.

👀 Physical appearance

Evan is a tall, fairly healthy man. He is not visibly muscular, although he does have great physical strength on his side and far more muscle than it appears he does, hidden very well under a protective layer of fat. He is sort of pale, with a smattering of freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. His hair is sort of shaggy and chocolate brown like his eyes.

💕 Orientation

Evan is bisexual and demiromantic.

😍 Love interest

He only has eyes for his wife, at this stage. He could potentially, however, fall for anyone who shares enough traits with her, personality-wise.

👋 Friends

Loch, Tobi, his high school buddies Raleigh Jett and Kris Anderson, and eventually Eddie, Ryan, and Rufus.

🐶 Pets

He has... Several cats as well as Ash’s foster pups and their dog Mirage.

😳 Most controversial opinion

That pineapple is an acceptable pizza topping lmao

😖 Most difficult decision faced

Joining Lochlier despite knowing what he was getting himself into.

✈️ Travel history

Evan has been to all 48 of the continental United States, as well as Alaska, once. As this was primarily for the sake of Lochlier he didn’t do much other than go there, wait around, finish his job, and then go home. He’d like to actually go visit some of the places he’s been again and have a proper look around, preferably with his wife at his side.

🏀 Hobbies

Wood-carving and metalworking!

🩺 General level of health

Evan is generally healthy at his current age - while he was prone to sickness when he was younger and he is eternally concerned that he could tear a lung or break a rib if he overexerts himself due to injuries he received while living with his abusive father, he’s in very good shape and doesn’t often get sick or injured. He’s a bit of a baby when he does get sick, though!

🍏 Favourite food

After the way he was raised, Evan couldn’t pick a favorite food even on pain of death.

Anything Ash or Loch or Tobi cooks is his favorite, no matter what it is.

🎨 Favourite colour

Red and/or purple! He’s also a fan of silver.

🗺 Favourite place

Home, where his wife is.

💭 Favourite memory

His high school graduation! He spent the whole day giddy, knowing that his graduation marked a new chapter of his life as he and Ash could finally join up with Loch and Tobi and hopefully get the chance to really have a life.

😨 Least favourite memory

The first time he stood up to his dad. He broke a couple of ribs and nearly punctured a lung, as well as bruised most of his body and got a concussion.

❄️ Favourite season or weather

He loves autumn and winter because when it’s cold he has an excuse to wear hoodies and cuddle up to Ash, and it’s more common for him to find Ash stealing one of his sweaters or hoodies to wear since they’re oversized and comfortable, which he finds adorable and endearing.

He’s also a fan of rainy weather in general, and he’ll sit out in a downpour if given the chance to do so without Ash worrying over him for it.

📅 Future plans

As of his current place in the series, his future plans mostly involve continuing to help Lochlier and loving on his wife without much else going on. By the end of the series he’s moved toward planning for his own self-improvement as a husband and father, and planning for the life of his child, who he hopes will have a better life than he did. He doesn’t have any specifics planned, but he wants nothing more than to get old with Ash while their kid thrives.

🔮 Opinion on (choose something!)

I entered the cast of Manipulatore into a random chooser and then spammed the button for this. So, Evan’s opinion on... Rufus!

Evan and Rufus get along disturbingly well considering their history as criminal and detective working to stop said criminal. The two of them certainly had their fights during Rufus’ tenure as a proxy, and before and after that as well, but overall the two of them found a kindred spirit in one another given their anger issues and desire to stop having those issues. They’re not close during the series since Rufus grows a healthy hatred for anything closely related to Lochlier. Post-series they become fairly good friends and Rufus (with Eddie) is considered one of River’s uncles.

[fusion-ego]

Apricot, Fuschia, Periwinkle, Mint, Rose, and Midnight with Evan

You’re gonna end up single-handedly forcing me to develop this character into something more 3D lmao

Apricot: How does your oc feel about stuffed animals?

He loves them!

Fuschia: What does it take to make your oc really blush?

Being genuinely flirted with usually gets him, honestly. Book-Canon Evan also blushes every time he sees his wife naked.

Periwinkle: What’s your oc’s dream job? Do they have any chance of achieving it?

He didn’t really have one, growing up - he just wanted to like, live? But he eventually decided he wanted to do woodcarving and things of that nature. He does it as a side-job in book-canon with little success until he and Ash start running a shop together after their escape at the end of the first book. After the shop opened he started making bank off of it, though still as a side job.

Mint: Would your oc ever plant a garden? If so, flowers or veggies? Would the garden flourish or die?

Evan actually really loves gardening, but he’s also scared he’d end up killing all his plants. He’d probably plant both flowers and veggies! And so long as Ash is around to sort of guide him along, the garden would absolutely flourish because he’d do everything exactly as directed just to keep them alive.

Rose: What’s something your oc wishes they could forget? Is it a bad memory dulled by time, or a happy memory tainted by it?

Evan has a lot of memories he wishes he could forget. More than any other, he wishes he could forget the first time he actually stood up to his dad, when he was 14. It’s a bad memory as much as it’s a good one - he still feels that little surge of confidence and happiness he got from telling his dad “Stop talking about my fucking friends like that, you sick fuck” and watching his dad look taken aback... But he also still feels the very physical ache of everything that came after that and it gets hard to breathe if he thinks about it too long.

Midnight: What does your oc look for in a romantic partner? Is it easier for them to open up physically or emotionally first?

Now this is a good one, because if he hadn’t met Loch and Ash as a young teen, he wouldn’t really ever develop a conscious idea for what he wanted out of a partner. What he “looks for” if he ever has to look can be best summed up as Ash.  He looks for Ash. He looks for someone passionate and caring and strong, but who he’s big enough and strong enough to protect if it comes to that. He looks for someone kind, someone creative, someone supportive, someone who can look at him and see someone worth giving a shit about, someone who he can give his everything to and not get it thrown back in his face. It’s far easier for him to open up physically, even just in an acquaintanceship with someone. He’s far more okay with handshakes and hugs and pats on the back than he is with any sort of obvious emotional vulnerability. At 25 in book-canon he still hasn’t fully opened up emotionally to his wife, although he’s certainly more open with her than he is with anyone else but Lochlier.

[fusion-ego]

(I'm sorry in advance, Mattie ;w;) 💀💍🤕🧠📓for Evan

💀 Has your OC ever lost anyone to death? Multiple people? People close to them? How does the loss make them feel?

He lost his mother when he was about four years old after, well... We know what his dad did to her. To date she’s the only person he’s lost, to his knowledge, though he imagines he’s had other relatives pass. He was very close to his mother, being four and a mama’s boy, but in the end it obviously didn’t matter.

For a long time, before he knew she was dead and that his dad had killed her, losing her hurt him immensely and he felt betrayed that she had left and not taken him with her. Her being gone also led to, as a result of his father’s abusive actions, a lot of emotional immaturity (later becoming a lack of ability to express anything but extremes except in specific circumstances) and a deep set vulnerability, which his how Lochlier was able to draw him into her inner circle after they’d been friends a while.

Now, as an adult who knows his mother didn’t abandon him, and who has come to terms with her having died trying to start the process of getting him out of his father’s house, it still hurts him. He’s come to terms with it, but it’s still a feeling that always makes his chest ache - he never knew her, not really, and he wishes he would have had the chance to get to know her. And, of course, he’s always terrified to lose Ash because he has the same level of whole-hearted love and adoration for her that he, as a child, had for his mother. It’s not the same kind of love, but it’s just as intense.

💍 Does your OC have a specific item that is priceless to them but may (or may not) be completely worthless to someone else? Is there a story behind this item or is it just because they like it so much?

Evan has two items of this nature - the bracelet he wears at all times, and his mother’s wedding ring. The bracelet is something Ash made for and gave to him, and he wears it, again, at all times. He wouldn’t take it off if his life depended on it. His mother’s ring, well... Someone else may find value in it, but never the same value he finds. His attachment to both items is 100% sentimental, and losing either one would probably crush him. Although he has been thinking about giving the ring to Ash...

🤕 What is the worst injury your OC has ever suffered? Do they have any scars or lasting physical reminders of it? Do they get sick often or have any lasting medical conditions?

He won’t talk about it, and most people (including his wife) don’t even know about it, but the worst injury he ever received came when he was 14 and stood up to his dad for the first time. He ended up at the bottom of a flight of stairs with several broken ribs - one of which nearly punctured his lung it had snapped so severely, and this was primarily a result of lifelong malnutrition at his father’s hands. He has a very faded scar from the surgery it took to re-set his ribs into the proper position, as despite his body being in shit shape he heals quickly and the scar, while it may be known to Ash, doesn’t really look like anything terrible.

He doesn’t get sick often, but he did when he was younger because he would overeat when given the chance, which would leave him sick for days or weeks while his body tried to process the nutrients. Now, his body is stronger and he eats regularly enough that he’s in good shape. In terms of lasting conditions, he does need to be careful not to overexert himself, since he can never be sure his lungs aren’t permanently damaged from that ‘fall’ down the stairs.

🧠 Talk about your OCs mental health! Do they have any specific triggers or ways to practice self care? What are some things that are more difficult for them to do because of their mental health?

Evan’s primary response to trauma is to bottle it and put it away, and his mind helps him keep anything worse than what his dad usually did out of his mind for the most part... But calling him ‘worthless’ will give him a panic attack, and even the threat of not eating at least one meal a day will do the same thing to him but on a much worse scale.

Self-care for him usually amounts to a snack, a drink of water, and brushing out his hair, since eating and drinking keeps him out of fight-or-flight mode and reminds his body he’s not starving, and brushing his hair is soothing. He’ll also sometimes take a bath, and if Ash is around he’ll sometimes let her brush his hair and style it, since he trusts her very much and letting her play with his hair is about the only way he can let himself fully relax and not be The Strong One.

He has a lot of trouble indicating when he’s having a hard time in a way that other people will actually understand - most of his tells are nonverbal and were worked out specifically so that his friends growing up would understand and no one else at all would, and the verbal ones usually boil down to him verbally lashing out when he’s having a bad time.

His upbringing and the associated trauma made it very hard for him to feel comfortable being weak or not 100% in control of himself, so it all boils down to “this man doesn’t know how to ask for help and is unwilling to learn how because his brain refuses to acknowledge that there are people around him now who love him unconditionally and want nothing but the best for him”, as well as “this man has so much trauma and has built up so many walls to hide it from other people and hide from it, himself, that he has the emotional range of a teaspoon and can’t form attachments unless he’s in a very vulnerable state, which has a very long track record of working out poorly”.

📓 Write a typical diary/journal page by your OC! (or if you’d rather not, describe their journal. Do they keep one, why?)

Dear Journal,                     July 22, 2008

Been talking to Loch and Ash a lot lately. Tobi, too, sometimes. He’s around less often, I guess.

Ash keeps telling me I should talk to Loch about my dad, but you and I both know that’s not gonna happen, don’t we? I haven’t even told Ash anything specific, there’s no way I’m just spilling my guts to Loch about it. She’s great and all, but... Ugh. No.

Raleigh finally told all of us what we’ve known since Lily Rogers moved here - that she’s into chicks. We told her, “Duh, you’ve been drooling after Lily for two years, gay ass, you think we didn’t notice”. She laughed at that. She showed up to our hangout yesterday with the left side of her head shaved wearing combat boots, ripped jeans, a band tee, and a fucking short sleeved hawaiian shirt. That girl never does anything halfway, guess I shouldn’t have expected her to step politely out of the closet - nah, she kicked the door in half and emerged with like, a stylist and backup break dancers.

She was real confident when she showed up which was great. Then Kris called her hot and she turned into a tomato, it was hilarious.

It’s the same shit, different day with dad. But he actually went grocery shopping this week and didn’t put all of it in the locked basement pantry and fridge. There’s like, actual food in the kitchen! I’ll have to try not to make myself sick this time.

I’m also thinking about asking Ash out. I’ll probably wait, though, and see if we keep talking. I know it’s been like a year, but we’re only just now getting into talking about important stuff. What if she doesn’t like me once she realizes I’m an asshole with a shitty temper and probably going to end up killing her if we ever meet each other in real life? I wouldn’t blame her, but it would still suck.

Dad’s home.

Write tomorrow.

Jay   Evan

Evan kept a journal from about May 2007 until January 2009, but didn’t write in it often. It was a one-subject notebook filled primarily with angry pen doodles and short rants about his father, although he did have some regular entries in it like the one above. He documented a lot of what his dad actually did to him in that journal, and although he’ll tell anyone who asks that he threw it away years ago, it’s in his toolbox and sometimes he reads back through it.

[fusion-ego]

⚡ for evan and 👽 for loch! - darkwarfy

Oh boy this is gonna be a little long-

⚡ What are your OC’s phobias? Is there any reasoning behind these? How do they calm themselves down after getting scared? What are they like when they’re afraid? Is there any chance of them overcoming their fears?

Evan is most chiefly afraid of turning out like his father or losing his wife. He seems pretty practical and comes off as very blank as a result since there's not a whole lot else in life that he's afraid of! Especially not to the extent that those two thing paralyze him.

A lot of his fear comes from personal experiences - when he was very young, his mother (to whom he was understandably very attached), Vivian Bannister, "disappeared" after a very loud fight with her husband, Trent. Losing her was not only traumatic because he didn't find out until he was 13 that his father had beaten her to death for threatening to take him and leave, but also because Trent Bannister was a horrible person and a horrible father. Evan spent his childhood and early adolescence being starved, beaten, and belittled by his father and everyone else, and he developed a hellacious temper that he tries very hard to keep in check. Now, having a wife and the possibility of children in the future, he is terrified to screw up at all and always afraid he'll slip up and turn out just like his dad.

If he needs to calm down from fear, he'll usually just seek his wife out and hold her for a while - and he'll apologize the whole time for bugging her, but she always tells him it's okay and she's there for him whenever he needs her.

When he's scared, he has two typical reactions - lash out and get rid of whatever is causing him that distress, or curl in on himself and try to be as quiet and still as possible. Most typically when he is particularly bothered by his two primary fears, he goes with the second one. He'll cry, a lot of the time, and especially if for any reason Ash is not around to provide comfort for him.

Evan is a strong man - fears and all. And one day he might stop being as scared, but he will never completely get over either fear. Not being his dad and keeping his wife close and safe are constant everyday struggles, and his fear only motivates him to try harder.

👽 Describe your OC as if they were an urban legend or myth!

In a rural Ohio town about an hour south of Columbus, there's a woman. They say she has the whole town wrapped around her finger, everything neatly tied up in strings for her to pull and twist as she sees fit. They say the townsfolk will kill for her, will kill in her name. They say her best friends are her attack dogs. They say her closest friend has never been seen in town, but everyone has heard of him - of her executioner. They say, and never repeat what I'm telling you now, that she has power enough to steal the free will from any who crosses her, and they say you'll never know her when you see her. She is just one of the townsfolk, going about her business, and not a man-made goddess who had no choice in her ascension.