( ) is the fourth of four children.

At 22, ( ) has lived in Byrne as Byrne their

whole life. They don’t remember anything different, although their whole life has
been stories of what was and what is and how the tradeoff is worth it, etc.
()’s oldest sibling was 18 when () was born, and the second oldest was 14, so both
were busy with Life by the time ( ) came around. As such, they aren’t very close
with either of those two. At this point, at 40, and 36, those siblings are
Important People doing Important Things, both with established positions of power
somewhere in Byrne’s insfrastructure and with no more time for ( ) now than they
had when ( ) was a child. Parent 1 has long been busy with Social Social Stuff and
Parent 2 with Work Work Stuff, and both were content in the Act of Creation but
didn’t feel the need to Parent a second time, so that left ( ) to their own devices
and the care of their grandmother and third sibling [X], who was only 4 years
older.
Grandma ran a restaurant or a bakery or something like that. Over the years, as
things became harder, it was only the combined power of a (semi?) influential
family that kept things profitable. Sometimes criminal activity was involved. :P
Grandma is now quite old, and the struggle and grind isn’t anything she wants
anymore. I think the building is now a sort of neighborhood aid spot where people
can come for some resources when they’re available (an event that is increasingly
uncommon). People can also hang out and potentially find someone willing to assist
with various things.
Older bro X was a bit of a rogueish figure growing up. He was always getting into
various scrapes and getting out of them again because he was just useful enough to
weasel and ingratiate himself over gaps left in the wake of his burned bridges. [ ]
idolizes him both as the sibling who played with them as a kid and as the dashing
older brother who always had stories to tell. He was definitely involved in
criminal activity, but never anything so dark or deep that it stained him or his
relationships for long. However, in recent years, X has left Byrne and is living as
a cis dude out in the world. This, along with Grandma’s decreasing involvement in
community and advanced age, has sort of left ( ) a bit unmoored from any close
relationships or goals but desperate for connection.
The thing is, ( ) views connection in terms of utility and novelty. X was always
doing, doing, doing, learning, applying, trading, sneaking, etc. ( )’s interactions
with X were always stories of accomplishments and experiences from the latter and
adoring interest from the former. Since no one in the family seems to really be
requiring anything from ( ) or even to have really noticed that they’re an Adult
now, ( ) has just been floating about collecting experiences and interests and
following the dandelion fluff as it suits them.
I don’t know much about the education system in Byrne? But, I see them as a
perpetual, but flighty, student. It doesn’t have to be formal education. Maybe they
just hit up the library and pick a random thing to get excited about. Maybe it’s
even less formal – they listen to the stories of folk who hang at the (defunct)
bakery and turn those recollections into lifegoals. __ studied mushrooms? Wow, I
want to study mushrooms! Let me learn everything about mushroo-oh, cool! Can you
teach me to knit?
So, the Obsession move is played out in general interests and the minutiae of day
to day life. And the interest is genuine, but it’s also quickly replaced. They’re
not just quixotically flighty .. they’re more fascinated by everything, and no one
has really forced him to rein in that fascination. Similarly, they think if they
know and do and are a lot, that is a way to be liked and appreciated, and it will
give them plenty of stories for big bro when they meet up again.
I think gender is like … a fascinating topic of study for them. They don’t really
relate to it most days. Other people, some of them, seem to Have a Gender in a way
that makes very little sense to them. Like, their brother Has a Gender. They don’t
really get why or how. Can’t he just … be fluid and hang around in Byrne? They’re
tolerant, of course, just…baffled.