Warning for bullying and car accident.
[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] [name_m]Nicholas[/name_m] [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] (31) knows [name_f]Sariah[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] from [name_f]Diana[/name_f], although he is not the judge on them and doesn’t plan to be. He is on bad terms with Diana’s family, after all Diana’s father bullied him when they were kids. Diana’s father always told [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] that he was never going to have friends, succeed, or find a relationship. He was a few years older than [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] so [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] was relieved when the bully grew out of his school, only to be bullied again when they attended the school again. This was a fear he worried about every night before going to sleep. According to teachers at that school, there was “never any proof” that [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] was being bullied so it was dismissed throughout his childhood. [name_m]Even[/name_m] as an adult, he doesn’t want to see his bully anymore. Diana’s attitude bothers him on a deep level, since she’s essentially a bully raised by a bully. He silently blames them both, perceiving this as an unbroken cycle that should be broken. He’d rather not talk to either at the moment; while they were viewing furniture at the furniture store he works at, he tried to avoid them but the father went back to bullying him. He tried to just dismiss everything away and told them to leave if they were just going to harass him and not buy anything. They stated they were going to buy anything but after seeing him and that burn on his face, they weren’t going to. The next day, they came back with some of Diana’s friends [name_f]Zoey[/name_f], [name_f]Sariah[/name_f], and [name_f]Cora[/name_f], but only [name_f]Diana[/name_f] actually said anything harmful while [name_f]Sariah[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] just tried to stay out of this. The day after, only the father came back to pester again but left after too many other customers were witnessing. He never visited the furniture store again. But [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] always feared one day he’d come back yet again and start more.
[name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] has one sister, [name_f]Alanis[/name_f], who is a mother of three with her husband [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. Yep, she’s the other mother involved in [name_u]Sammy[/name_u] being switched at birth…with her own “son” [name_u]Sal[/name_u]! He and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] are on good terms and he’s understanding of Michael’s strict parents…although it’s taken time before they were friendly again with him. The reason why? He was the driver of the dangerous car accident he and [name_u]Michael[/name_u] were in. They were driving back to see [name_f]Alanis[/name_f] during the crash. While he wasn’t at fault for what happened during the crash, Michael’s siblings blamed him a lot and it wasn’t until he was cleared by police that they forgave him. Michael’s parents were just worried about their son and their feelings on [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] were silent, even when one sibling tried to say the police botched the justice. As for [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] himself, he’s ignoring that, he just chalks it up to sour in-laws and doesn’t let it get to his head. At that point he was just focusing on recovering and felt he spent too much of his life trying to prove himself to people who were never going to like him anyway. He’s much better physically although that burn scar on his face never truly disappeared. He just tells himself that at least nobody else can see what other scars he’s gotten from that.
As for the [name_u]Brooks[/name_u] side of the family, he’s close and he really finds a good bond with his sister. He supports his parents and never blames them for any of his own actions. He’s proud of his older sister’s confidence and remembers when she first told him about [name_u]Michael[/name_u]. [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] is a nerd for fixing antiques which he likes, he’s previously fixed the old cuckoo clock that the couple had when they were dating. There was a pretty hilarious moment during the proposal when [name_u]Michael[/name_u] proposed to [name_f]Alanis[/name_f] and the bird made a “cuckoo” after he popped the question. The two went awkwardly silent but then laughed about it for a while until [name_f]Alanis[/name_f] gladly accepted. Neither of them nor [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] forget that story. [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] also has an old furnace in his basement that makes noise randomly and he likes comparing it to the scene in Home Alone where [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] tells the “scary” furnace to “shut up”. [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] thinks it’s funny but also likes that [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] stood up for himself when he was scared, even if it was just a furnace, and now he’s not afraid anymore. [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] wants to be that way someday and even joked that his face was “hit by an iron”, referencing that scene, just so he can poke fun at himself before somebody else who’s mistreated him can. He is an escapist in terms of some of his life from teenage years to present, often using songwriting as an escape from his past, although he has no plans to sing any of the songs publicly. He knows a lot about Loretta’s husband since they used to be neighbours and he’s on good terms with the guy. While he has said nothing but nice things about Ollie’s distant friend [name_f]Sariah[/name_f], he states he’s not on good terms with [name_f]Loretta[/name_f]. While [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] knows this older man more than he knows [name_f]Loretta[/name_f], he’s tried to convince him to let [name_f]Loretta[/name_f] prove herself. He isn’t sure whether to trust [name_f]Loretta[/name_f] but he feels if this goes to a divorce court, that [name_f]Loretta[/name_f] would try to use that against him, so it would be better to just learn the truth now. But the truth is, [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] wouldn’t be persuading this had he known that [name_u]Sammy[/name_u] is technically his own nephew.
Alanis was created by @jinxed_peach.
Michael was created by @kitkatcookie.
Sal was created by me.
