➝ The Vicinage Crew
⚠️ UNDER CONSTRUCTION ⚠️
Storm Hills
Storm and her brother, Shadow, lost their parents in childhood to violence over involvement in the drug trade. Subsequently they were forced to go live with their aunt and uncle, neither of whom Storm got along with particularly well—especially as a kid dealing with raw, devastating grief that caused her behavioral issues. As a pre-teen, she moved with her older brother to an apartment of their own, hoping distance and a closer bond between them would benefit her. Unfortunately, Shadow had been struggling with his own aggrieved inner demons for a long, silent time; while Storm acted out, her brother turned inward, and eventually lost his fight. Storm was only twelve when she came home one day to find her brother hanging from a noose. She dove in and out of her own darknesses after that, involving a suicide attempt of her own, an extended battle with self-injury, and careening through various occupations and coping mechanisms, hoping for one to be ‘the fix.’ She’s finding catharsis in photography, now, and aspires to move from being a hobbyist to a true professional.
Jazz Lynn
A survivor of alternating severe neglect and severe abuse at the hands of her father, Jazz is a shy, tentative young woman who struggles interpersonally but fosters an incredibly warm heart. Potentially schizophrenic, she has severe social anxiety and a complicated relationship with trust and reality, compounded by some of her ‘out-there’ beliefs and ideas, quirky dress style, and tendency to ramble airily or abruptly clam up—all of which only alienate her from “mainstream” society.
Fortunately for both of them, Jazz managed to strike up an unusual relationship with Sethfire, after his demeanor and memorable physical stature failed to be intimidating and instead tugged her alternative-perception-prone psyche towards the belief that he was Special And Trustworthy. She stepped out of her comfort zone to engage him, and her “not-all-there,” distinctly neuroatypical presentation—and faint British accent—put Seth more at ease than he otherwise felt. With Jazz he had no need to conform to an image or role, and he took comfort from that—even while trying to gently dissuade her from the idea that he was “Special.”
In the meantime, she was playing a similar role to him, though: By coincidence, she had stumbled upon her old childhood friend, Nick, miles from their hometown and in a city of millions. He’d gotten tangled up in the raging opioid epidemic in the years since middle school, and Jazz took it upon herself to get him back on his feet.
And for Seth, too, she was an enormous support: She ended up being the only person he could bear to ask for help when he needed it after some assorted relapses; the only person he could reach out to without feeling at risk of dying of shame. She’s attended to him throughout and eventually let him introduce her to his band.
These days, despite all her quirks, she has a solid group of friends who understand that she may not always be 100% comfortable around them, and allow her that—with understanding and empathy all the way. Nick’s shaping up to be a pretty good boyfriend, too.
Nicholas (“Nick”) Davison
After losing his father to lung cancer during elementary school, Nick started down a long, hard, grief-stricken road that he’d struggle along into his adulthood. His father was his best friend in a lot of ways, and Nick took the loss hard. More inclined to act ‘in’ than act out and wary of burdening his grieving mother, Nick ended up an extremely depressed child and nursing a silent battle with self-injury. His mom eventually found out about it and got him into therapy, which helped him kick the behavior and begin to perk up a little more. He was able to befriend Jazz, whose own withdrawn nature felt non-threatening to a little boy only just starting to peek out of his shell again.
As time went on, though, Nick’s growing extroversion became problematic: He ended up with a girlfriend and social circle who went hard in the paint; initially exposing him to party drugs, and then to harder ones—heroin included, which seemed pretty damn alright at the time; able to calm racing thoughts or make memories of his father ones that felt like halcyonic nostalgia rather than a gaping, hollow wound.
Addiction was easy to stumble into and nearly impossible for an impulsive, still-grieving high-schooler to fight. His jonesing drove him to swipe cash or things to pawn from the house, and eventually his mother felt she had no choice but to kick him out.
Directionless in life, especially after his girlfriend broke up with him, Nick ended up wandering the rough life in NYC, chasing dope and not much else…Until he reconnected with Jazz.
Now, he’s making efforts to get clean, even if it’s a struggle and still involves replacement substances or relapses. He has a job as a bartender that he intends to keep and a girlfriend he wants to support. He’s working on it.
Isaac Harrison
A CSA and [homophobia-based] physical assault survivor both, Isaac’s trauma has deep, difficult roots for him and he fails to cope healthily with it. His enraged relationship with his abuse in childhood and the hate crime committed against him in school for his sexuality have driven him to warped, destructive paths intrinsically intertwined with his orientation. The abuse he once inflicted on himself over it, he now turns outward—onto the gay men with whom he engages in his twisted trysts. Quite nearly pathologically sadistic and plagued by varying levels of homicidal ideation—only tempered by the suicidal ideation that follows—he was, down to the scar over his eye, a perfect partner in Kohao’s mind when they met, and the two of them end up toeing a line just a few steps removed from Armin Meiwes and Bernd Brandes. Kohao's all too happy to indulge Isaac’s sadism—to the point that Isaac brings a stop to their sexual encounters, fearing his own homicidal ideation and wavering impulse control in the face of someone who begs to die. Kohao, of course, takes it as abandonment—and the two part ways, never to speak again.
Hunter Murray
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Wendy S.
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Art by @StormFemaleWolf