TC!Owen

This version of Owen is the one on the Warriors forum restart. He is older and more mature, but most of his early history remains the same as OG!Owen.

Owen is a 6'2, white male with an average body type and slightly over shoulder-length, curly, dark brown hair. He is covered head-to-toe in dense freckles. His eyes are a very dark maroon, which look almost black at first glance. He has a relatively masculine-looking, clean-shaven face.

Owen always wears clothes with long sleeves, often in bright colors. (Bright as in yellows and reds. Get that neon out if your head, you barbarian.) He wears a pink bead bracelet and a strawberry-themed watch on his right wrist, both of which have sentimental value. He can wear glasses, but almost always chooses contacts instead. Exceptions are mostly when he's alone or if he forgot to take his contacts out before sleeping.

Owen hates hoodies. To him, they represent a really dark time in his life and bring back unwanted memories.

Personality
Owen can be very introverted, with a lot of anxiety over himself, his future, and those around him. Despite this, he can also be cocky, confident, and outgoing. He is very intelligent and creative. Owen wants to make his family proud, despite not always knowing exactly what he wants to do with his life.

Owen tends to make friends easily. He's never really had a huge friend group, but he also attracts and keeps people around a lot more easily than he ever expects or tries to. Perhaps it is because he tends to be very open about things, and most people can easily spot when he's lying... usually. He enjoys expressing himself in any way he can, especially theatre or acting (though he isn't sure that's where his passion lies either). He can be a good liar if he tries hard enough to combat the guilt of doing it.

Owen is very hardworking, always trying to be a step ahead of the competition, but he also has a hard time believing in his own abilities.

He can become very close to specific people if they show him patience and kindness, and he needs those people to bring out the best in him and to show him that he is worth something. They're a huge part of his life, and they are one of the biggest things that keep Owen going when he's at his worst.

Owen is hopeless when it comes to romance, falling head-over-heels to the first guy who is nice to him. He's dedicated and loving, respectful and accepting, and also loyal to a fault: once he falls for someone, he keeps chasing after or believing in them even if they turn. He likes to think there is a reason a person might be an ass if they weren't always, because it doesn't make sense to him for them to change suddenly. He is always willing to give someone more chances, even if they hurt him.

It generally takes a lot to get him to snap at someone, but he does get angry. He's not all sunshine and rainbows (no pun intended).

Unfortunately, Owen also struggles with his mental health. He is prone to depression and has generalized anxiety disorder, though he manages it with therapy and medication. It also helps to have distractions, or to ignore his feelings sometimes. (His therapist says that isn't a healthy coping mechanism, but sometimes facing emotions gets so tiring.)

Owen loves children, which he found out only recently. His heart is huge and still has a lot of room left to let other people in. Specifically, he loves the two kids that he babysits and may or may not have wormed his way into their family as well. He loves them more than anything, and he's trying his best to be a good not-parent to them. Sometimes he wonders how his own parents let him do everything when he was a kid-- it was good for him, but letting his own kids do the very same things, like climbing tall trees, makes him so very anxious.

He has more in store.

History
Owen's childhood was simple. It was fun, nurturing, and he had the best parents he could possible ask for.

Owen was allowed to try new things and to take risks, with his parents supporting him all the way. They would let him climb trees or balance on thin metal beams, because they knew it was important to let their children learn on their own. (Not that they would let him die for it-- of course, they were very protective and wouldn't let him do anything without supervision-- but they would let him take some risks and trust him.)

Owen had a brother, older by a year or two named Max. He and Max got along pretty well at first, although there was some tension between them, and probably sibling pranks and some bullying when their parents weren't looking.

Max and him grew a sort of awkward version of a love-hate relationship. They loved each other, but they weren't very much older when they grew apart, with an awkward version of a love-hate relationship. There was always miscommunication between the two of them, which led to most of the conflict in the house. They learned to just not talk to each other unless it was important or something normal. It worked, and they could be in the same room together peacefully. But they still did care about each other: it was in their blood.

He grew up in a pretty crappy neighborhood in Florida, full of mostly low and low-middle class, white Catholics and with pretty crappy schools. In many ways, however, he was very privileged: his own family were middle class and smart about money, he had two very loving parents, his brother who he really loved too, and his cockatiel Tequila "Tiki," who was the sweetest bird.

His parents were very open and accepting, and did extensive research when they decided to have children. There were places where they fell short, and it wasn't always perfect of course, but they were to Owen, and especially compared to many other parents. They were strict and disciplined when they had to be, teaching everything they could, but they also let Max and Owen just be kids and run around and get hurt as kids do.

When Owen was five, his mother gave birth to his younger sister, who his father named Lily. (Owen saw his mom give his dad a weird look after suggesting it, but she eventually caved since they agreed that he could name the third child.)

Owen fell in love with Lily from the start, infatuated with her glittering baby blue eyes and the soft wisp of dark hair on her head. He fell in love with her toothless smile, her weird little giggle, and the way her fingers curled around his own. She was perfect, and he was going to be the best big brother.

And he was. The two siblings were practically inseparable as they aged, both outgoing and adventurous but also cuddle bug couch potatoes.

Max was still there, but he and Owen didn't get along because Owen was two years younger, two years more immature, and Max was a big kid now. Actually, Shadow doesn't know exactly why they weren't close. They're just making stuff up. They didn't hate each other, which is very important to know. They had a mutual agreement and a silent, almost telepathic way of communicating, but they didn't like the same things. It wasn't awkward yet.

It got awkward when Max started middle school, surrounded by druggies and horny pre-teens and so many bad influences. He got quieter, he got louder, he got more emotional, he hid himself away more, and he was always changing. Owen heard his parents talk about moving, to get him in a better school and area, but that would mean separating the three kids from the friends they did make, and changing everything the three of them ever knew.

It might have been the worst decision they ever made, but they were trying their best, and everyone makes mistakes.

Max became quieter, got in a couple fights. He grew taller, grew out his hair, wore darker clothes and long sleeves. His voice deepened. The school was changing him, and Owen wasn't sure how to feel about this new version of his brother. He missed the old one, who would actually spend time with him and not just their parents.

Owen started middle school two years after Max did, and Owen thought it was cool. People were different, and he didn't have as many friends, but he still had his best friend, who he knew since elementary school. He still had his best friend's friends, who were also his friends. He had a few other friends. It was good.

Tom was in the grade above Owen, always popular and athletic, and he always spent time with Owen when no one else would. Perhaps he just put up with Owen, but Owen didn't care. Tom was his best friend, who was always there for him.

Tom was a jock, already massive while Owen was still growing. He had the deepest brown eyes, a charming smile, and he was cool, well-respected and loved by everyone. And he chose Owen, of all people, to be his friend. He would often leave Owen when they were at school to laugh and joke with some of his other friends, but that was okay. Owen wanted him to be happy; he didn't care if Tom had other friends he cared about too.

Owen, who was a hormonal teenager, developed a massive crush on the guy.

Four years old while Owen was twelve and in seventh grade, Lily came home with bracelets she made for her whole family. They were simply pieces of yarn with beads on them- easy to break, but special to her. She gave a blue and red one with a few pink beads to her father, a green and red and pink one to her mother, and then to Owen she gave a mostly pink one with a little bit of sky blue, almost matching her own. Her smile and intentions had been so wholesome, and Owen held onto and cherished that bracelet. It meant a lot to his sister, and he would wear it with pride!

A few weeks later, Lily died in a car accident on her way home from her school, which got out before Owen's did. The car had been flipped on the highway, and Lily had been found ejected from the vehicle, her father unconscious at the wheel but alive and stable.

Owen and Max were pulled out of school on time that day by a friendly neighbor that babysat for them every once in a while. She didn't tell them where their parents were, because she knew it wasn't her place. They knew it was something bad, and sat together on the couch. If they heard the babysitter pick up the phone and their fearless mother blubbering incomprehensibly on the other end, they didn't say anything, just held each other tighter.

They found out what happened the next morning, when they were brought back to their own house instead of school, where their mother held them both close the moment they came in the door. They never saw her cry before, and held her back until she breathed and managed to actually explain what was going on, with the babysitter's help.

Owen didn't remember the exact words she said, but his world tilted on its axis, frozen in time.

Lily was dead. Lily was dead and his father was in the hospital and...

Max asked if they could visit their father.

...Felix wasn't coming back.

They lost the sibling that they both loved so much, and they were told that their father would probably spend some time in prison for involuntary manslaughter unless he brought up a good enough defense. Until he was conscious, they wouldn't know why Lily was unbuckled when she shouldn't have been.

When he regained consciousness, Felix was just as shocked as everyone else, if not more so. He simply stared at his shaky hands, ignoring police who tried to get his side of the story. he didn't care if he was thrown in jail. His little girl was dead because of him.

He deserved to be killed. He deserved to be locked up for life and forced to live like an animal in the prison system for the rest of his life, because his child was dead and it was all his fault.

How could he defend himself in court when he was already blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault?

Joy was furious. Joy was upset and grieving, and she wasn't thinking straight. Her husband wasn't answering. Her husband was silent when he should be defending himself. He killed her child and it was all his fault. How could she trust another person with her children when her own husband, who she thought she could trust, murdered her youngest child?

She was heartbroken. So were her two sons, who were only made more upset around her but also didn't want to leave her. They've never sen her like this before. They were both crying too, and they held onto their mother until they all passed out. Joy didn't seem to want to be coddled, but she got it anyway because her kids wouldn't let her think she was alone or unloved.

When the two inevitably went back to school, Max became more protective of Owen. He was already protective, watching his little brother from a distance the rare time they were in the same place at the same time, but now he was staying nearby, a constant reminder that things were different now.

Owen started to break.

But he still loved Tom. Tom noticed he was upset, but didn't press. Owen told him about Lily anyway, of course-- he left out details about his father, because he didn't believe that his father hurt Lily intentionally, but it was also hard to ignore the pain he caused and the words that came from his mother's mouth, and the gossip around town-- but Tom just sat next to him in silence. Maybe it was awkward to Tom, but to Owen, it was comfortable.

Tom was one reason to get up in the morning. Not the only reason, but a reason.

A few moths later, Owen revealed his crush. He wasn't ready to move on, but his hormones were raging and grief mixed with lust and panic mixed with anger and desperation to get better. He didn't want to focus so much on Lily. It was hard to make out the weird feelings he had for Tom-- Owen's own mind was anything but linear-- but he needed a distraction, an escape. Maybe, if he had a relationship to focus on, he could move on.

He didn't want to forget Lily. He wouldn't ever forget Lily, but everything was overwhelming and he just wanted to feel okay again.

He didn't realize that it wasn't okay to like other guys.

Tom started avoiding him, Tom's friends started bullying him, and whispers spread around the school. Even his other friends side-eyed and began to avoid him-- to avoid being seen with the freak who likes other guys.

Another piece broke. He cried in the bathroom when no one else was looking. Maybe Max somehow heard his sobs and tried to help, but that just made it worse.

The bullying got worse and worse. This time, his parents weren't there-- weren't there enough-- to notice.

Then Tom joined in.

if Owen wasn't already self-harming, he certainly was then. It was all so overwhelming and the world was piled on top of him and he couldn't breathe, and that was the only constant. The internet said that cutting helped. Owen was afraid to go more than skin-deep.

Months later-- or perhaps just weeks, if timing was on his side-- he moved. His mother finally made the decision she should have made years prior. She made the right decision, but it was far too late for any of them.

He was pulled from the lake he had come to know his entire life, full of people he knew all his life. They abused him, but he still felt a connection. Tom especially, he didn't want to part with, even if he was the worst offender. He could have changed Tom's mind. Tom didn't mean to hurt him, he just...

Maybe Owen deserved it.

He was pulled out of the lake just to be thrown into the torrenting ocean that was his new school. New area, new people, new school hierarchy, no social bonds... Every man for themselves.

Like a medieval battlefield, no one was safe. Everyone was an enemy, and the world flashed by in a blur, with every knight blending together as their swords and shields clanged, creating unbearable cacophony. Everyone was. a target, from the drug dealers and probably future serial killers to the sarcastic blind kid and the new kids with their own mental issues to exploit. Owen had no defense-- no armor, no shield, and he hadn't yet forged his sword either. He was at their mercy.

Owen's mother had grown distant, as though without someone to force the blame onto she had retreated into a darker part of herself, blameful, regretful, overflowing with grief and sadness. Neither son knew how to help, as they were battling their own demons.

At least Tiki was there to try to keep their spirits up.

Max grew cold and distant. He stopped trying to cheer them up as much, instead resorting to using his colder aura and size as intimidation, then using his fists if someone pissed him off enough. He was still protective of Owen, but Owen didn't want Max fighting everyone. Maybe that person approaching them after school was there to become a friend! Or maybe they wanted to apologize for being an asshole!

...Wishful thinking, but Owen didn't want to cause pain to more people. They hurt Owen, sure, but he could take it: he was raised by his strong mother, after all. She would never let their harsh words get to her. And they never hit Owen. Mama said to fight back, but he didn't want to. He never actually had to, before.

Joy was distant, and Max didn't seem to care what Owen thought about his actions. Would either of them care if Owen was gone?

Logically, he knew they would, but emotions were overwhelming, the anxiety he didn't know he had had taken root firmly in his brain and in his chest, and he didn't think it would ever end. It didn't feel mortal.

Who would even notice if he just... Disappeared?

After one too many taunts at school, Owen shakes off his brother and steals some of his parents' medicine. Probably something left from his father, because no one would notice if it was missing.

...He doesn't go through with it. He can't. He is afraid of it not working, and he is afraid of what his mother would say if he lived. She'd be so mad.

So he tucked it under some clothes in a drawer and snuck out to go to the park. He didn't want to stay home. Didn't want to stay in his room and hate himself for not going through with it, and he didn't want his family to see him crying. Mama never cried. Dad cried, but he wasn't there anymore. Mama said he killed Lily.

Owen still missed his dad.

He ra away from his house, wiping his tears and trying so hard not to cry where the neighbors could hear. He had to get away. He couldn't bear to be alive but he had to. He had to.

His feet somehow avoided cars and brought him to a nearby park. He was still panicking, looking around desperately. He was trying to get away from people, and now he was right in the middle of the walking trail. He really was a failure. He held his hands tight over his mouth, panicking worse because he just wanted to break down but he couldn't-- he should have just stayed in his room---

"H-hey! Are you okay?"

Owen spun around when a voice spoke from behind him. Fuck, fuck, he was such a failure--

"Hey! Calm down! It's okay, see? What's wrong?"

...And that's how he met Lukas, a pretty blond who cared far too much for strangers he didn't even know. For nobodies like Owen.

They became best friends. Apparently, they were in the same grade and went to the same school, but didn't share any classes and never saw each other in the halls.

Lukas was the first one to notice Owen's cuts, and insisted on wrapping them, even if they weren't bleeding. Maybe he was just trying to show Owen that he cared, or maybe he was hoping that they would deter his new friend. Probably a mix of both. Owen would never know, but he appreciated how Lukas never seemed annoyed, and how he didn't try to force Owen to stop, just offered help and support Owen no longer got from home.

Lukas was afraid of spiders and thunderstorms, and he had a complicated, love-hate relationship with his parents and twin sister. He liked music, and he liked helping people. He was sweet and charming, and never failed to put more and more outrageous cat puns in everything he said just because he liked to, and he liked to mess with those around him.

Owen loved him. It was a slow realization this time, as he still held loyalty for Tom. But Tom hurt him. Tom wasn't bad, though, just... influenced. But Lukas was around bad people too, and he never hurt Owen.

Lukas helped Owen a lot with his mental health. Once Joy got a hold of her emotions, changed her meds,a nd went back to therapy, she started to get better. She tried to be a good parent again, and even faced her husband for the first time since her daughter's death.

She got both of her sons their own therapists and any meds they needed, and tried to amend her broken relationship with them. Owen could never hold it against her. He still had a long way to go for his own healing, but he could never hold a grudge against his mother.

Max was still distant, and Owen never knew what was going on with him. But that was okay, because Owen didn't really talk to him either. Max had a girlfriend now, but Owen was nervous around new people, and didn't know how to talk to her.

He thought her name was Kota. Or maybe it was Dakota? He didn't pay as much attention as he probably should have.

Owen knew his brother did drugs at one point. He smoked, and that was all Owen ever found out about. He knew that Max made friends, but Owen didn't know any of them. He just let Max do his own thing. His brother was older, he could take care of himself. He still had Mom looking out for him.

Eventually, Max got a girlfriend. Owen was in eigth grade, still in his last year of middle school while Max was a Sophomore in high school.

She came around a lot, and Owen saw Max smiling and happy like he never was before.

Owen and Lukas got together while hanging out in a treehouse made for the neighbor's kids who never used it. They were in their last year of middle school, still just trying to survive. It started raining, but they stayed inside. Soon, it picked up. It began shaking the treehouse and knocking over trees, with large hail and rain that flash flooded the streets.

Lukas panicked, and Owen tried to calm him down. When Owen started panicking over Lukas panicking, he smacked a kiss on Lukas's lips in a desperate attempt to distract him for a moment so he could try to convince Lukas to go inside. He didn't really think of it at the time-- didn't even really notice it-- but it worked. Owen managed to surprise Lukas enough that he could actually talk and run through the rain to bring his friend outside.

A tornado siren sounded as soon as they started running, and they couldn't get to the basement fast enough.

Joy was panicking over where they were and Max was trying to convince her that Owen was fine and probably sheltering in a gas station or at Lukas's house or something.

Several hours after the storm, when huddled together under a blanket after they changed into dry clothes and warmed up in the shower, Lukas remembered Owen's support throughout the ordeal, including the kiss. He found that hilarious, and Owen almost forgot about it.

Lukas was the one who asked Owen out, by teasing him about it. Owen flushed red, as he often did around Lukas (hence his nicknames of Strawberry and Tomato), and that was it. They had a very close, healthy relationship for several years after it.

Max and his girlfriend Dakota weren't together anymore, because their small age difference was enough where a romantic relationship would be illegal. They still saw each other and hung out all the time, though, and Max was happier than Owen had seen him in a long time.

Late in Owen's freshman year of high school, he was calming down. Therapy, medication, a healthier high school and family environment, and the support of his friends all helped his anxiety so much. He was still healing, but he was getting there. He finally met Dakota, and he actually talked to Max more, and he accepted her as part of the family, even if she and max weren't technically together. Just like Lukas, or Owen's best friend Hazel were part of the family, so was Dakota.

Even Tiki seemed happier, with less high emotions and more attention than she had for a long while, singing and flying around and playing with everything she could get her beak on.

Dakota left Max the next year. He was a senior in high school (supposed to be a junior, but Shadow messed up the timeline and isn't going back to fix it right now-- actually, turns out Max is only one year older than Owen, so yeah, that needs to be fixed throughout this, before this point... Wait no. Dakota left Max when Owen was a junior, so Max must have been a senior. Dakota left before Lukas died.), and she had an opportunity to pursue her career that she couldn't pass up. Dakota promised to keep in contact, and Max tried to be supportive but how could she leave him like that?

Max fell into another depressive spiral, possibly even worse than the first. He was distant, he was cold, he was irritable, and Owen heard him pacing in his room and punching his pillow at odd hours, through the walls. He felt awful, and tried to help, but Max only pushed him away.

What happened with Max from there isn't known. He might have dropped out of high school in his grief, or he might have gotten caught up in a drug bust and arrested, or a number of other things. If he was arrested, he was not charged as an adult, thankfully.

Owen never noticed that Lukas had always been struggling with his own mental health. Lukas helped him, and Owen never felt like he did enough in return. Owen never noticed that Lukas was suffering and that he needed help too.

Owen did help Lukas, though. Owen's mother had given his own therapist, but Owen still went to Lukas when she could only help so much. Lukas only had Owen, but hid the darkest parts of himself.

Owen didn't notice until their Junior year of high school (the third/forth year of their relationship). Everything got really bad, and Owen tried to help. He tried to know what was wrong, tried to help Lukas the same way Lukas helped him years ago, but he only made things worse, he felt.

Lukas killed himself that year.

Owen was broken.

Owen lost his sister and his father, his brother and Dakota, and now the love of his life, who was the biggest reason he kept going at one point.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't... How was he supposed to move on!?

He still missed his sister. He was a little kid, practically, when she died. His brain was still developing. ''How does he move on when the one he loved most killed himself because Owen wasn't good enough? Owen just stood by while he was suffering for years. ''

He blamed himself. His mother tried to help. It was just her and him and Tiki, now. The house felt so big, so empty, and Owen felt so small.

It was normally full of foot traffic and friendly conversations and laughter. Now his mother just held him while he sobbed as quietly as he could in the middle of the floor, while Tiki stayed in their laps.

---

Owen made it through the rest of that summer break and the next year, but it was never the same. He loved his mother, and he knew that she tried so hard for him, but he could barely manage a smile. Just taking his meds in the morning became a chore.

Somehow, he made it through senior year. Maybe it was just because he didn't want his mother to worry about him, or maybe it was because he didn't have a choice. He still blamed himself, he could barely concentrate on school, and his world would never return to normal.

He got accepted into a college. He didn't really know what he wanted to do with his life, but his mother would worry if he ended up living under a bridge, and he didn't want to keep stressing her or making her feel guilty when she had to see him every day. He couldn't quite fake a smile, even for her sake.

His mother was so strong. She was so strong, and he could see the grey hairs and wrinkles that broke up that unbreakable image he always saw her in. He wondered if he and his siblings and his father were the causes.

He left for college, eyes still duller than they should be, smile still not as bright. Even crying was just so much effort, because crying means to feel something, and it's so much easier not to do that.

His therapist says that it's not a healthy coping mechanism, but it's a lot easier to just block out that feeling.

He didn't know what to do in college, so he decided to major in theatre. He liked it when he was in high school, and maybe he could learn to fake a smile that reached his eyes.

Last minute research showed him that he'd probably still end up living under a bridge.

He got a job at a diner near campus, faking smiles for all the customers and asking to take their order. When you don't have it in you to feel emotions, it was easy to ignore the bullshit. The job was simple.

Later on, Owen met a girl at the diner named Cameron. She was a year younger than he was, and she saw the lifelessness in his dark eyes. She made it her goal to become his friend, and succeeded... eventually.

At some point in Owen's first year of college, his father is either released from prison or his mother learned the truth of the case and fought in court for him to be released. She's thinking straighter than she was, and so is Felix, so they can both admit and accept the truth of what happened, without throwing blame on themselves or others.

Owen doesn't know how to react when he sees his father for the first time outside of prison walls or court in six years. When he is swept up in a hug, he doesn't know how or when he and his father ended up on their knees on the floor, crying in a tight embrace.

.........

The roleplay starts when Owen is in his second year of college, near the very end. His mental health is in a better state, after three years to recover. It helps to have friends that support him, and to be away from home which is full of unwanted memories. He still isn't perfect, but he's pretty close.

He didn't know how he moved on. Perhaps blocking out emotion was more helpful than the therapist thought, because he learned to ignore the worst parts of things.

He met Leo at an ice cream shop. Tall, dark, and handsome, apparently.

Leo was very different from Lukas and Tom both, and actually very similar to Owen. Shadow thinks they're too similar to actually have an incredibly long-lasting relationship, and that it's just both of them being lustful and thinking they're in love, but whatever. Ummy made Leo just to be with Owen, and we already mapped out their future together, so they'll have to make it work. Shadow doesn't think it would be an unhealthy relationship or anything, they just don't see it as actual love. But heck, Shadow doesn't even think Lukas and Owen would have lasted-- Shadow thinks they would have been forced to go long-distance and that it wouldn't work out since they're both touchy people and would probably learn to function without the other and make new friends, but whatever. Anyway.

Leo made the first move. Owen was just sitting there, looking at a video of Tiki that his mother sent him and eating his ice cream, when Leo's sister (who was working at the counter) called out to Owen and told him that her brother liked him.

So that's how they met, then they went on actual dates like couples do and played a back-and-forth question game, and it ended up working out.

Owen was walking down the street a different time, and ended up finding two little kids without their parents. He tried asking them where their parents were, and they led him to their house. He was terrified that they were leading him away and that the parents would see him and think he was kidnapping their children.

That didn't happen, thankfully, and they led him to their house, where their parents ran up to them and thanked Owen profusely for finding their kids. The mother, Quinn, tried to get Owen to babysit because he actually gave in to their imaginations instead of trying to stifle it. She gave him time to think about it when it was clear that he was apprehensive. Owen had never been in charge of children before. Not since he was twelve and watching his little sister, which didn't really count.

Cameron was spying on Leo and Owen's first date to make sure Leo didn't hurt fragile Owen who was just getting better from things only she knew about. There, she met River, Leo's best friend who was doing the same thing with Owen. They decided to pull a prank on the boys, and pretended to date until the big reveal.

Owen was incredibly confused. Leo probably was too.

They went on a double camping date once school was out. Owen found a baby bird, which Leo returned to its nest. They got lost in the woods for a little bit because they peer pressured Leo, who was basicaly their guide. Cameron teased Owen about getting a room because his crush was showing. Owen tried and failed to shoot the same joke back to her, later.

When Owen got back, it was to Quinn harassing him over the babysitting job, which he agreed to because she was scary, even through a phone.

He fell in love with the two kids his first day babysitting. They were so much better than he thought they'd be. They were so respectful, and lively, and kind, and he loved them.

Their names were Kestrel and Griffin, and they were fraternal twins. His kids now. They were endlessly supportive of each other, and he loved them.

They had a big blue-and-gold macaw named Darwin, who Owen also loved. Darwin wasn't home that first day, but the twins' parents knew they couldn't have found a better babysitter when they saw how he looked at not only their kids, but also their bird. What are the odds to find someone who was good with kids, who the kids loved, and that person also loved the unusual family pet? Perfection.

On June 21, Owen wanted to spend his birthday with his family. He hadn't seen them since winter, and he missed them both. He dragged Leo and cameron along with him.

Cameron filled in his parents about what was happening with Owen's mental health and how he was doing, since they wanted to get more than just Owen's word for it.

Owen forgot there were old family pictures everywhere. Family pictures that included Hazel, Lukas, Max, Dakota, and other close friends that weren't around so much anymore. He tried not to focus on it, but it was hard, especially when he noticed that Leo saw them too. It was pretty obvious that Lukas was an old boyfriend or best friend of Owen's based on the pictures, since they were always together and clearly unrelated in them, and Owen wasn't ready to talk about Lukas with Leo. He wanted to just leave it in the past and forget that Lukas ever existed. (Not really. Lukas didn't deserve to be forgotten. Still, Owen wasn't ready to face the past.)

Owen talked with his family about Max too, a bit. Max was seventeen when he was arrested, so he wasn't in prison for long, especially since it wasn't a major offense. But after being released, the family barely heard from him. Owen didn't really know how to feel about Max. It was clear his parents still loved him, but his mother had seen his fall and just seemed lost, and his father hadn't really seen Max since he was going through something in middle school. They all knew basic things about Max, like that he was alive and whether or not he was in prison and if he murdered anyone lately or something, but not much else.

Owen didn't like thinking about what could be happening with them.

Dakota showed up at some point, after not showing herself in two years. Owen wondered if she knew anything about Max, but didn't say anything. Part of Max's downfall was because of her. But he didn't know if he could blame her for that at all. She was still considered family and welcomed in, either way. No one could fault her for chasing her dreams.

She and Cameron somehow knew each other from before Dakota left. Small world.

After the whole thing, Owen and Leo had a discussion about Lukas. Owen wasn't really ready, but he talked anyway.

Before the next school year, Owen changed his major to education. He didn't know how much he liked kids until he was babysitting Kestrel and Griffin, and it seemed like something he would enjoy.

Leo met the two rascals at some point, when they were racing toward the top of a tree and Owen was trying to parent like his own parents did by letting them take risks, but damn it he was about to have a heart attack with them up there---

Griffin got scared. Leo was nearby, and heard Griffin yell for Owen, and went to the kid's rescue while Kestrel followed them down. Definitely an interesting way to meet his boyfriend's kids in all but blood and legal guardianship.

Future Plot

 * Anaphylaxis while babysitting?
 * Mild HNPP?
 * Homeless mainly because he just can't find a job with the school, which is what he has, and he's trying to keep in contact with his kids, and he can't keep up with his half of the rent for his apartment with Cameron, and the diner is shit at paying people and he's not as good at being a waiter as he was before his anxiety was shit, and oh look at that: he can't afford his therapist or anxiety meds anymore, an dnow he's losing his job at the diner because of that anxiety and living out of his car and he can't feel his arm and--
 * Follow-up plot with Max.

Trivia

 * Owen is roleplayed by Shadow
 * Owen is homosexual and homoromantic.
 * In the roleplay he was originally created in, Owen's brother was Jamison (Ron's Junkrat).
 * Owen originally had almost no design, simply "white with freckles." His design was only semi-solidified July 23, 2019, over a year after he was made. It was most likely based off of several animatics Shadow saw, conscious decision or not.
 * It took several years, but Owen is Shadow's most developed OC.
 * Owen is the only one of Shadow's characters with a favorite color or a favorite animal (red and parrots/parakeets of any kind).
 * Owen has claustrophobia. In middle school, he had severe social anxiety as well as GAD.
 * It was unintentional, but Max's entire character is basically what Owen could end up being. There is also a lot going on with him that Owen never sees.