LIZARD DOGGO HOOOOLY SHIT

okay so for my OCs, the ones who would adopt without a second thought are:

(Milo is 8, Cody is 9 lmaooo)

THREE NAMES SPRING TO MIND: Gus, Noah and Conor. Three different books, three different vibes, ALL eating frosting right out of the can.

IS THIS THE CORRECT THING???

I had to Google it BUT assuming this is correct...

let's talk about... Elephant 🐘

our main character is Zen Yang. he's 22 and he's having a hard time. he's technically a college student but he's on a leave of absence (and it's not the first one he's ever taken.) it's February and it's been two months since the death of his nine-year-old brother Zai.

Zen isn't having the easiest time dealing with it. survivor's guilt and tension with his family have him up all night with either insomnia or nightmares

he lives with close friend and roommate Bree Ramos. they've been very close since Bree moved in four years earlier. Bree is a dancer (a professional performer as well as a dance teacher) and engaged to a tattoo artist from Brooklyn, a very bad bitch named Cleo. they're madly, grossly in love and aesthetic opposites and they're smitten. they're both older than Zen and so they naturally look out for him but Bree in particular is downright MATERNAL. (she was the same way with Zai -- more on that later) at the gentle and strategic urging of his best friend (Simon, a full-time student, full-time employee, up-and-coming comedian and broke-guy-with-four-roommates), Zen goes to meet a therapist named Dr. Montgomery. it's there in the waiting room before one of his weekly sessions that Zen sees a beautiful guy with curly hair that looks weirdly out-of-place in New York City. but he recognizes him, having seen him around the neighborhood recently. the man introduces himself as Oliver Edison and the two hit it off.

the book follows Zen as he struggles with balancing his trauma/grief with hope/love (all while learning about some dark shit about Ollie's past and trying to help him heal and grow, too.) the entire group was heavily impacted by Zai's death (as well, obviously, as Zen's other relatives, including an older brother named Zoh who blames Zen in the first place.) this book is meant to show Zen's progress over the course of the year following Zai's death. he's always been a little spacey, a little lost, a little unsure, a little bit non-committal, maybe even a little lazy or conflict-adverse, but these new circumstances are forcing Zen grow up and decide things about himself. he can't drag his feet or bury his head with this one: he has to face what happened to Zai and he has to face himself. basically, Zen living his worst nightmare (losing his little brother) and falling in love AT THE SAME TIME has always been a really compelling conflict for me and that's why I'm picking this story up after 8 years.

(also it was fully named after and inspired by this song and I cannot recommend it ((and Benjamin Francis Leftwich in general)) enough)

OKAY, MY FRIEND, LET'S DO THIS (thank you for asking by the way! I've wanted to make an official post about Elephant and this is a great opportunity to do so

I really want to talk more about this project because I think some of the homies here would like it!

Zen really likes heights! Ollie, meanwhile, is terrified of them. And living in NYC makes this a potentially very cute dynamic lmao

OP THIS IS SOOOO RAD, THANK YOU FOR SUBMITTING IT

I'm going to put the blank in the queue and tag you! also here's mine!

this was really fun to think about, thank you so much

omg is this where two Zens meet????

alright so Zen doesn't have any pets. he shares a LOVELY brownstone apartment with his friend and roommate Bree BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? now that you mention it, OP, I think they should have a cat.

as for siblings! Zen has an older brother named Zoh (they're not close lmao) he also has a much younger brother named Zai (whose very sudden death is the catalyst for this story -- Elephant starts about 2 months after Zai's death)

THANK YOU FOR ASKING ILY ZEN

24. What is their least favorite household chore? Elly fucking hates vacuuming lmao whether it's at home or at work (she works at a cafe owned by her best friend Celia), it's one chore that just drives her insane. (It's likely the noise tbh)

hello, love!!

17. Can they swim? She can! She's very athletic/fit overall, too.

18. Do they have any pets? Nope! But she and her wife, Perrie, get their son a plush dog for his birthday (which happens in one of the first chapters) with a note on the collar saying that they're going to take him to the shelter and let him pick out his new best friend AND I'm thinking of making that the epilogue scene!

it's funny that the two WIPs I talk about are Blizzard Bois and Spooky Beach Bois BUT I actually think y'all would like my other other two main WIPs, Elephant and "Verrie" (which is just the name of the main ship bc it doesn't have a real title yet) way more lmao

21. Who would they say is their best friend? Ollie wouldn't really say he has one! He is a tough guy to get to know (by design) and he rarely lets anyone in enough to consider them a best friend. There's an elderly Russian woman who lives in the apartment across from his and he checks in on her/brings her groceries and stuff. Does that count? lmao

THREE DIFFERENT OCs FROM THREE DIFFERENT BOOKS, I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS, THANK YOU KINDLY

Cleo Kloss 2. What's their biggest pet peeve? THIS IS V FUNNY because this book takes place in New York City and Cleo is the only driver in the entire group. Her pet peeve, naturally, is bad drivers (though she could give you a detailed bulleted list breaking down her SPECIFIC pet peeves regarding city driving)

4. What's their middle name? Anabella! 16. Have they ever been arrested? SHE HAS NOT! But she has gotten close lmao Violetta Prince (I am so glad you like her name!!) 13. Do they like candy corn? She does! (her wife does Not)

18. Do they have any pets? Not throughout the course of the book BUT canonically, after the events of the main story, she and her wife adopt a dog for their son!

28. Do they believe in aliens? OP, IT'S LIKE YOU HACKED INTO MY ONEDRIVE AND READ ALL THESE BOOKS WITH HOW PERFECT YOUR QUESTION CHOICES ARE LMAOOO it is a COMPLICATED subject for Violetta! I jokingly refer to this book as the "Alien Cult Book" so, yeah, Violetta is gonna be coming face-to-face with something otherworldly but she really doesn't like talking about it or thinking about it too much after the fact.

Henry Watson 3. What's their favorite Pokémon? Either Psyduck or Pichu (his favorite color is yellow) 9. Are they good in a crisis? Nope! Next question! (Kidding... mostly.) Henry is young!! He turned 18 right before the events of the Blizzard Bois book. He s pretty good for a guy his age but he's still an anxious, emotional teen and that definitely comes out in a crisis situation.

22. What color is their toothbrush? Blue! He wanted yellow. His mom bought blue.

(FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART, thank you for these! I mean it -- these were freakishly character-specific questions. I am really impressed by your instincts!)

!!!! Zen, Ollie, Bree, Simon and Cleo are our cast of characters in Elephant and I am SO GLAD that you asked me about them!! :')

10. Are they more of a cat person or a dog person? I'd say Zen and Cleo are cat people, Ollie and Simon are dog people and Bree is an equal opportunity animal/pet lover lmao

11. Do they have any siblings? If so, are they close with them? A GREAT QUESTION FOR THIS PROJECT SPECIFICALLY. So! The plot of this book centers around Zen after the very sudden and traumatic loss of his 9-year-old brother Zai. They were EXTREMELY close. Zen also has an older brother named Zoh but they are very much Not Close. Simon is an only child! Cleo has a sister. Bree has a brother but she's not close with him (she considers Zen, and also considered Zai, to be her brother) and Ollie grew up in foster care and has no biological siblings (or at least any he knows about.)

30. Have they ever been in love? ANOTHER GREAT QUESTION FOR THIS BOOK SPECIFICALLY!! The other half of the plot is Zen and Ollie falling in love! Cleo and Bree, meanwhile, ARE LESBIANS IN LOVE and the book opens with them getting engaged. Simon, bless him, has never been in love but he says he looks forward to it someday lmao

30. Have they ever been in love?

A great ask! Especially because 50% of the plot of Elephant (the book in which Zen is the protagonist) centers around Zen meeting, falling for and exploring a tentative relationship with a man named Ollie

(and spoiler alert incoming here... he DEFINITELY falls in love... fast)

I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ZEN YANG. he is the protagonist of a WIP called "Elephant" and he is the most lovely and beautiful and MOST beloved boy in the world.

he's 23, lives in NYC and is absolutely fucking REELING from a huge and traumatic loss that occurred just a month before the book begins. he is still in college as a result of a few leaves of absence + changed his major a couple times. before the Big Traumatic Thing, he worked part-time at a coffee shop near his school.

he's a bit aimless, and a bit spacey at times, but he is extremely emotionally intelligent, extremely loyal and extremely SOFT. he's half-French (dad) and half-Chinese (Mom), a former soccer player and youth soccer coach, GAYYYY, originally from Staten Island, and 6'3! he's also a huge Knicks fan and a huge Montreal Canadiens fan.

'Elephant' begins a month after Zen suffers this loss and he is having a very hard time living his life. when he takes his friend Simon's advice and starts seeing a therapist, Zen meets an extremely handsome and mysterious man (Ollie ! ! !) in the waiting room and is immediately (and uncharacteristically) interested in him.

so our sweet and perfect and wonderful Zen Yang is trying to fill his days with anything that might stop the bleeding and help him get through to bedtime (which is ALSO tough because he's having some pretty vivid nightmares) AND AT THE SAME TIME also getting to know Oliver "Ollie" Edison, a man who seems to be too perfect to ALSO be seeing a counselor who specializes in grief and anxiety.