Song: Brittle Bones Nicky by Rare Americans

(With slight adjustments to better suit the characters and avoid as much repeating)

Character:

Briar, Viar, Destry, Cam, Moiraine (aka Mori)

Context:

Um... Briar's life?

*TW abuse, trans & homophobia, and death*

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(We start earlier on in Briar's life. Cam's describing Briar affectionately)

Cam (14, dead), amused but affectionate: "All rise! "Brittle Bones Briar" was crafty and tricky, and that son of a bitch was gold! Yeah, that son of a bitch was gold!

(Now we jump to just after Cam died and they just joined the gang with Briar describing their life up to this point)

Briar (14), matter-of-factly: "Wires got crossed when I was about three, dad had bloody heavy hands, used them on me. My Cam? Bless his heart, 'cause he gave me a start, He got killed, bad man, dad stiffed in a scam. Grew up in the gang, bounced, couple tasks. This man Mori, gifted me hand-me-down clothes. Shy at the start, 'til this guy named Destry who had 100 pounds on me called me "Brittle Bones Briar.""

Briar (14), shifting to describing life in the gang after a few months: "A target aimed straight at my face, big gang of kids, cred is cake. Rounded up a couple bucks, got it freshly baked, sat down to dinner, put it right in his (Destry's) face. Right in his fucking face! In his face!"

Briar (14), sneering at Destry: "You're not gonna push me around! You can't get me down, down, down! You're not gonna push me around, no! You can't get me down, down, down!"

(Timeline change. It's a little earlier on, Briar, Cam, Little, and Bit are all hanging out and getting up to mischief, as one does. Briar was kind of the leader of the group, though it happened naturally and wasn't something outwardly said.)

Briar (13), grinning: "Bounce ahead a couple years, king of my peers. We biked the block, cheersin' pretty girl's beers! Did alright for myself, petty thefts I pulled, dropped outta school, built a circle of bulls."

(Timeline shift. Right after Cam's death, Briar blamed themselves since the group that ended up killing him was one that Briar had introduced Cam to and one that got up to a bunch of shit like thievery and things, which Briar and Cam joined in.)

Briar (14), obviously regretful, describing one of the first things they did with the group: "Needing more money, covered head to toe, snuck up, sucker, took his stash, and drove. The cash stashed, it was pouring in, the bulk of it up my nose. How dumb I was, 14 and way out of control!"

Briar (14), describing the scene when the cops found them with Cam's body. They weren't helpful or understanding, more so just a little amused at how Cam had died: "The cops kicked down the door, said, "That's one way to go down!" Knew I was hard as rock. Knew-I-was-hard-as-rock."

(Timeline shift. Back in the gang, Briar, who's new, meets Moiraine (16) who kind of takes Briar under his wing. Moiraine was a creature, but also one of the very few who wasn't yet broken by Viar and his system, and he encouraged Briar to keep their head up too.)

Briar (14), nervously: "Gang, new world, who could I trust? Killers were nice, smugglers were rough."

Briar (14), shortly after meeting Mori: "Met a man named Mori, quite sharp and witty, gave me books about money and cities. Taught me ropes, only years coulda gained, looked out for each other, M.O's the same."

(Slight timeline change. A couple of years after meeting, Moiraine decided he was done with Viar's shit, so he took a stand. Things didn't go well, as you might expect, and Briar tried to step in and save Mori, only to be held back by Destry.)

Briar (16), panicked and watching Moiraine go against Viar: "That night I heard Mori, turning 18 in May, yellin' so loud, two decades we aged. Found him cornered, pants down, shanked. Didn't even think twice, man I barely blinked!"

Briar (16), fighting against Destry to try to reach Mori: "If it cost me my life, man, I'd save my only friend! That's something I could live with, I could take that 'til the end!"

(Timeline shift. We're back to right before Cam died, Briar's fighting against one of the previous gang members to try to save Cam as the gun is fired.)

Briar (14), panicked and fighting as they watch Cam about to die: "If it cost me my life, man, I'd save my only friend! That's something I could live with, I could take that 'til the end!"

(Timeline change. After Moiraine's death, Briar vows not to lose their humanity for his sake, even as they remain in the gang. Destry becomes the main enemy since Briar isn't confident enough to actually stand up to Viar, and the two have had a feud since the beginning.)

Briar (16), echoing the words they spoke when they first met Destry: "You're not gonna push me around, you can't get me down, down, down! You're not gonna push me around, no! You can't get me down, down, down!"

(Timeline skip. Current day, Briar has, indeed, lost their sense of humanity. They follow Viar's rules and lie to everyone they meet about how they're content and happy with how the gang handles things.)

Briar (22), going through the motions: "Now every morning, coffee, park. Walking around the city, deals light or dark. I'm straight edge as a punk, well-mannered, and I feel "free," tried to do what I thought was best and that's coming to the grave with me."

Briar (22), very much believing and almost hoping that they don't live much longer: "As I lay here in my final nights, I try to have a laugh. I didn't win the game of life, but I'd give myself a pass."

Overthink101 said:

That's adorable and definitely something Garvin needs more of in his life