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- Multiple posts per day
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- Male
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- Genres
- Monsters, supernatural, fantasy, romance, criminality, slice-of-life (modern or set in past, usually with some twists)
Life for Ethan Dyer hadn't been the greatest for the last few years. At one time in his life, everything had been going perfectly for him, where his only troubles had been balancing his active social life with maintaining his good grades at school. He had thriving friendships, a boyfriend he loved and, he felt, a good future ahead of him.
All that changed when he discovered that he wasn't strictly normal, and his problems went from dragging himself out of bed on a school morning to trying to make sure nobody around him realised he could manipulate fire. After an unfortunate accident that ended in his next-door neighbour's death, Ethan's mental health suffered. The emotional strength it took to overcome that and continue to act as though everything was fine just wasn't something he had in him. He managed to act normally at school, but his parents were witness to how different their son was becoming. One suicide attempt later, and he was institutionalised for his own good.
Not that the hospital helped him all that much. Unable to talk about what the problem with him was, he was prescribed pills and the problem never really went away. He had to deal with it by himself, and he chose to deal with it the only way he knew of at the time - by pretending he was normal and avoiding situations that would anger him into responding with literal fire.
For two years, Ethan stayed in the hospital, only to be left alone without a single visit from anyone other than his parents. Having been so popular before his institutionalisation, the boy naively clung to the hope that he would receive a visit from his friends and if not them, then, at the very least, Arie. His boyfriend was his best friend, having been at his side since they were 8. If nobody else would visit him after his attempted suicide, he fully expected Arie would... and it was that that really started to twist Ethan's view of the world. He had attempted suicide for a variety of reasons, one major one being his inability to deal with what he was because of the threat he posed to people, even strangers, around him. However, if those closest to him couldn't be bothered to care about him, he started to realise that strangers probably wouldn't give a shit either - so why was he bothering to care about their wellbeing?
For the last week, returning to school only cemented his decision not to care about anyone. The reaction of not only his friends but every student who remembered him spoke volumes. He was either completely avoided or glanced at with unsubtle whispers about who he was, where he had been for the last two years and how 'weird' he now was. It was hardly a confidence boost, yet he was almost glad that he received the response he did. It consolidated everything he had started to think, and was the catalyst into him finally accepting himself and what he could do.
Walking into school that morning was one of the most joyous occasions in his life. The news of his crime was on everyone's lips - how a horrid fire had ripped apart the local store and taken the lives of several, injuring even more. It was a terrible accident, one that the city wouldn't forget in a hurry. Even though nobody knew it was him, Ethan was fine with that for now. The experience had been one that he enjoyed because, for once, he was happy with who he was, and that was invaluable to his mental health. He fully accepted what he could do and who he was - surely that wasn't a bad thing?
Seeing how affected everyone around him was was also deeply satisfying, especially when, for once, nobody seemed to whisper about him. Instead, they were unknowingly whispering about something he had done, and that was at least something he could take pride in. The sight of Arie walking through the corridor with all their old friends, however, did sap his good mood, turning his back and tugging his hood up to avoid catching the eye of his ex-boyfriend. Every day for the last week, he had been tempted to simply set them all on fire and watch them burn. He was planning to do that eventually, but not yet, and he didn't want to be provoked into unleashing that plan early. Thus, avoiding Arie's eyes and therefore avoiding getting enraged by him was probably for the best.
All that changed when he discovered that he wasn't strictly normal, and his problems went from dragging himself out of bed on a school morning to trying to make sure nobody around him realised he could manipulate fire. After an unfortunate accident that ended in his next-door neighbour's death, Ethan's mental health suffered. The emotional strength it took to overcome that and continue to act as though everything was fine just wasn't something he had in him. He managed to act normally at school, but his parents were witness to how different their son was becoming. One suicide attempt later, and he was institutionalised for his own good.
Not that the hospital helped him all that much. Unable to talk about what the problem with him was, he was prescribed pills and the problem never really went away. He had to deal with it by himself, and he chose to deal with it the only way he knew of at the time - by pretending he was normal and avoiding situations that would anger him into responding with literal fire.
For two years, Ethan stayed in the hospital, only to be left alone without a single visit from anyone other than his parents. Having been so popular before his institutionalisation, the boy naively clung to the hope that he would receive a visit from his friends and if not them, then, at the very least, Arie. His boyfriend was his best friend, having been at his side since they were 8. If nobody else would visit him after his attempted suicide, he fully expected Arie would... and it was that that really started to twist Ethan's view of the world. He had attempted suicide for a variety of reasons, one major one being his inability to deal with what he was because of the threat he posed to people, even strangers, around him. However, if those closest to him couldn't be bothered to care about him, he started to realise that strangers probably wouldn't give a shit either - so why was he bothering to care about their wellbeing?
For the last week, returning to school only cemented his decision not to care about anyone. The reaction of not only his friends but every student who remembered him spoke volumes. He was either completely avoided or glanced at with unsubtle whispers about who he was, where he had been for the last two years and how 'weird' he now was. It was hardly a confidence boost, yet he was almost glad that he received the response he did. It consolidated everything he had started to think, and was the catalyst into him finally accepting himself and what he could do.
Walking into school that morning was one of the most joyous occasions in his life. The news of his crime was on everyone's lips - how a horrid fire had ripped apart the local store and taken the lives of several, injuring even more. It was a terrible accident, one that the city wouldn't forget in a hurry. Even though nobody knew it was him, Ethan was fine with that for now. The experience had been one that he enjoyed because, for once, he was happy with who he was, and that was invaluable to his mental health. He fully accepted what he could do and who he was - surely that wasn't a bad thing?
Seeing how affected everyone around him was was also deeply satisfying, especially when, for once, nobody seemed to whisper about him. Instead, they were unknowingly whispering about something he had done, and that was at least something he could take pride in. The sight of Arie walking through the corridor with all their old friends, however, did sap his good mood, turning his back and tugging his hood up to avoid catching the eye of his ex-boyfriend. Every day for the last week, he had been tempted to simply set them all on fire and watch them burn. He was planning to do that eventually, but not yet, and he didn't want to be provoked into unleashing that plan early. Thus, avoiding Arie's eyes and therefore avoiding getting enraged by him was probably for the best.