"I got that look a couple of times," he said without missing a beat, narrowing his eyes at the memory. It almost always felt like it was accompanied by a long truck ride after being picked up at someone's house for a party he wasn't supposed to attend, or that time he had been too drunk to get home after hanging out at the bonfire in the woods, getting busted by the cops. "It was when you got the distinct pleasure of an actual lecture to go with it that it really hit home." While Jason had always been a quiet, mellow kind of father, when he was mad, he was mad. Everyone (except maybe Clementine) had been on the receiving end of that, at least once. "But still. He would fucking hate this."
Shaking his head, he pulled his hands out of his pockets to point out to the ocean. "All the money in the world isn't going to make up for the ecosystem that would be lost, though. I know for a fact that there's seals out that way, just beyond those rocks. Turtles that lay nests in the dunes. Birds, crabs, you name it. In all my forty years on this planet, I've never seen anything here," and in another forty years, he hoped that it stayed that way. "But I've seen plenty of houses spring up back there on the coast, businesses expand on the beach. We're losing ground for the environment, just to give it up to… what," he gave Tavi a skeptical look, "a Holiday Inn with a Starbucks on the ground floor?"
his eyes traced the invisible line cage made with his fingers towards the horizon as he listed off the species that are doomed to be affected by reclamation like he was in a nature documentary special that put him to sleep when he was a kid. “okay, david attenberg,” tavi teased, pulling a face at his cousin. truthfully, he hadn’t thought about any of that environmental stuff, and he doubted he'd think about it in the future. “don’t the birds got all that sky to occupy? and can’t the crabs just, you know, look for another place to hang out?” someone paid attention in mrs. menken’s science class, and it was definitely not him. “i’m just saying, it might not be that bad. could give more jobs to folks ‘round here. hell, i might apply. carry people’s bags for a livin’ or park their cars.”
“So you wanna go to a waterpark and just do that all day?” Joella asked with a raised brow. She remembered thinking when she was younger that there should be something to do besides walking around town in a day. Now she kind of liked it. “Because if I have to fight some tourists for parking, I’m gonna actually complain.”
he side-eyes joella for the comment, then rolls his eyes. "i mean, it doesn't have to be a water park, but you know what, yeah. i'd rather be at a water park all day than look at...this," and he makes a terse, floppy-handed gesture at the expanse of empty land before them, "all the damn time." he leans against the metal railing and hoists himself up so he's sitting on the topmost bar. "it wouldn't kill us to walk. and if the benefactor can build a damn resort, he can pay for a few more parking lots. 'sides, don't you want more people watchin' you at the mirage? they'll be talkin' about you in friggin' mexico, jo."
Apparently, life went on when you were at home with a newborn, losing sleep to cries, t-shirts to spit up, and local news to re-runs of Bluey and late nights watching CNN. He had promised himself he'd stop into the shop that day, just for an hour or so, but took the long way home and found himself out near the coast, wanting to see the site that had the town all up in arms. Had Cage up in arms. His father would've been leading the revolt. "Dad'd be giving you one of those looks if he caught you saying that, you know," Cage gruffed as he came up behind Tavi, pocketing his hands and narrowing his eyes at the expanse of beach. "The 'not angry, just disappointed' kind of look."
tavi hadn’t seen cage much since his new kid was born and of course he understands what that’s like, but also maybe not. he figures fatherhood is a pretty cut and dry thing: when your kid is born, you give time to take care of them until they’re old enough to be left with the nanny or whatever. then he remembers that not all fathers probably share the same sentiment; some of them find playing fantasy football with their friends or taking suspiciously long and spontaneous trips to portland more exciting and important than the notion of bringing new life into the world. in that sense, he’s never been more glad to not see cage for a few weeks.
against the afternoon sun, tavi squints at his cousin. the image of jason newman’s disappointed stare is conjured and tavi huffs out a chuckle. “yeah, well, there was also ‘the angry and disappointed look’.” like the time he backed the tractor into the newly installed fencing, which did involve tavi spending his entire summer rebuilding it until his hands were all blistered and splintered and jason finally caved and thought he’d served his punishment enough and he was finally allowed to go hang out with friends just two days before school was to start again. tavi still thinks his uncle had forgiven him long before that, he just wanted him to learn his lesson. “anyway, how bad could it be, really? maybe we could use the PR, get some traction into the town. there’s plenty of unused land that frankly, i’d personally like to make use of, if i had the money for it.” now he sounded like his father right then.
status: open
location: near the site, mid-afternoon
"maybe a resort's not so bad," tavi muses, watching the site from a safe distance away, the entrance sealed off by shabby wooden fencing for the time being. "maybe then there'll be something interesting to do in this town for once."
tavi is generally a nice guy, though he can be callous and brash, often says the first thing he's thinking without giving it a second thought. he's incredibly hardworking and there's hardly a job he'll say no to unless it's physically impossible for him to accomplish with his resources, but even then he usually finds a way to make do. he has serious abandonment issues, which makes him a little clingy at times and he freaks out at the slightest notion of being left, even in a temporary capacity, though he tries to reign it in. honesty is extremely important to him, no matter how brutal. he hates liars. he's a loyal friend, sometimes to a fault. he can be a little intense. he's also got a temper on him and is easily provoked, often resulting in physical altercations, earning him a reputation for being a loose cannon.
portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson; penned by Frankie.
his father is richard 'dick' newman, belonging to the newman clan—arguably an institution—from merrock, maine. he was the eldest of his brood and the most problematic. instead of helping out at their family's farm, he was always coming up with these grand money-making schemes that always had him in debt, always had him starting over. he was a disarmingly charismatic, manipulative, and volatile man, and anyone feigned to be involved with him.
his mother is mira rothschild, from a wealthy jewish family in new york. slated to become a prima ballerina, her promising career abruptly ended when she fell in love with the farm boy from maine who'd swept her off her feet and promised her a life away from her controlling parents. she never cared for the lush life anyway, and the idea of settling down with a family of her own in a small, quiet town was far more appealing.
the couple eloped to merrock. mira was cut off from her family, though gained a new one through the newmans, who'd welcomed her as their own. she made her income as a seamstress' apprentice and by helping out at the newmans' blueberry business. at 20, she'd given birth to his and dick's first child, a son. a few years later, their second child followed and, finally, tavi.
when tavi was seven, dick left for boston on what was supposedly a 'business trip' (though god knows what business he had there) and never returned. unable to support three children by herself, mira lost their house. thankfully, dick's brother jason offered for them to stay with them until they could get back on her feet.
growing up, tavi and his siblings were often teased for being the offspring of the town fuck up, the black sheep of what was considered to be a respectable family in merrock. after seeing how his mother struggled in his father's absence, tavi hated being likened to the man, and yet it felt, at times, that his fate was inescapable. he had no real talents to show off, no big brains to rely on, and he often got in trouble at school. just like his father, some would say, which fueled a rage in tavi, and ironically, turned him more and more into his father each day.
as tavi came into his teens, and unbeknownst to anyone, mira had been speaking to her parents again, if only for the sake of her children and their future. when tavi was fourteen, he was told that he would be staying with his grandparents in new york and finish high school there. despite his protests, he wasn't really given much of a choice—besides, he was a mama's boy at heart. he could never say no to her.
after only 2 years, tavi was unable to bear the same suffocation that his mother suffered for 19 years under their roof. afraid that he wasn't going to be allowed to come back to merrock, he chose to run away. he was 16 and had been staying with an older friend at a job his grandparents didn't know he was working on days they thought he was going to school. after a month, his friend gave him up in exchange for "reward money" like he was some milk carton kid.
tavi was returned to merrock like a defective toy, plopped on his mother's doorstep so he can become her problem now. mira kept him close by and wanted to become more involved in his life to keep an eye on him. it was clear that he had zero interest in academics and was more eager to make himself more useful, to work and make money like his siblings were, but mira just needed him to finish high school so he'd have a better shot at more opportunities in the job market. and so finish he did, just by the skin of his teeth, and he was free to do whatever he wanted.
he worked whatever job he could, mostly contracts that lasted a few days to a few weeks, before he'd move on to the next. he'd also get referrals to odd jobs for a variety of people, from his cousins to shop owners to neighbors to unsuspecting tourists who just needed somebody to drive them around and give them the full merrock experience. those were his favorites.
he kept to himself more and tried to stay out of everyone's way if it didn't have anything to do with a job he was doing, though he still couldn't help the occasional run-in that often ended with bruised fits and cut lips when provoked.
when he was 25, his father reentered their lives, grayer now and in bad shape, like a cat looking for a place to die. he had returned just a few days after his brother jason's death and was allegedly seeking reconciliation, had wanted to get to know the people his children had become. tavi was initially skeptical of his intentions but had eventually relented, much to mira's chagrin. for almost a year, the two had become close, working on jobs together, taking weekend road trips, seeing what america had to offer. finally, dick offered for tavi to join him on a business venture, something he'd been working on in boston, he said. he wasn't going to be around for much longer and he wanted his family to take advantage of the fruits of his labor. all tavi had to do was to shell out a little cash, money he certainly didn't have, but that was alright, dick said, he could ask his siblings for the rest. just don't tell your mother yet.
he didn't tell his mother, but his siblings did, which resulted in a huge inter-family fight and dick deciding that it was no longer worth his time. he wanted to fuck off, but tavi wanted to come with him, to see what he had in boston. sure, dick said, we'll leave in the morning. which of course meant that by dawn, he was gone.
this messed tavi up some, causing him to pull away from his family, blaming them for losing his father when he'd just gotten him back. he was angry at his mother, most of all, for keeping him from his dad. and for the second time time in his life, he left merrock, taking the bus to boston to go look for him. once there, he had a few names to start with, people to ask, places to visit. tavi didn't know how long he'd have to keep looking for him, but he didn't have much money to last him for more than two weeks in the dingy motel room he was checked into. he started taking on small jobs to keep him there a little while longer, which turned to employment as a delivery driver with a company-issued van and all, which was helpful in getting him around the city as he searched for his dad. then he'd met a girl, and they'd fallen in love, and they'd rented a small apartment together, and the weeks turned to months turned to two years, and somehow he found himself engaged with a baby on the way. then his fiancée wanted to call off the wedding on account of her conscience, that she wasn't even sure if the baby was his, but just on the off chance that it was, tavi wanted to see it through. she didn't want him to, though, she didn't want him. tavi begged for her to stay, but nothing could convince her to. and just like that, just like his dad, she was gone.
once again, he found himself in merrock with his tail tucked between his legs. he had a lot to make up to his family for, and he figured he could start with staying out of trouble. he's been working at the fish market for a few years now as a delivery driver and dock hand, and he still does the occasional odd job which fills the hours, keeps him busy, and keeps his mind off of the other stuff.
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