Lucas Brigham 5/1/25 Lucas Brigham 5/1/25

Freeway Chapter 1: July 13

CHAPTER 1: July 13

“Remember the rules, Tim. You get two hours total on Discord today, so use them wisely.”

“I know, Mom” the teen replied, wiping his spriggy hair out of his face. “I promise. And when you call me for dinner, I’ll come.”

“Wonderful,” his father responded. “I’ll see you soon.”

Tim opened his MacBook Air and navigated to his preferred chat app. He allowed himself a moment to reflect on the fact that his parents trusted him just enough to let him use Discord without installing software to block the site after a certain amount of time. Then again, it was all too easy to disable such software - maybe that’s why they didn’t bother.

Anyway, Tim had used his computer enough that it was basically muscle memory at this point. He opened the app, and upon logging in (for his parents told him to always log out at the end of a session, no matter how secure he thought the app might be), he saw his friends list. In the upper left corner of the screen, though, a red dot with the number one in it was visible.

That’s weird. Someone sent me a friend request.

Truth be told, Tim didn’t mind getting friend requests. Yes, there were all sorts of scams floating around the platform these days, such as those people promising to sell you “art” that would end up being AI-generated, or not existing at all. Quite frankly, though, there was nothing to worry about unless you were gullible enough to fall for such an obvious effort to swindle you.

Even so, people rarely added him first unless he asked them to. Tim clicked on the “Pending” button to see which user it was.

To his surprise, the username was not one he recognized. As far as he could tell, he’d never spoken to this person.

But we have a mutual server. That’s odd. How would I not have noticed them?

Oh well. They must have joined today while I was away from my computer - AFK, as the terminally online say. Of course, if we haven’t spoken before and they just joined the server, it might be one of those art scammers again.

Tim’s fingers hovered over his mouse until he made his decision.

I’ll accept the friend request, even if only to be nice. But I’ll block them on the spot if they tell me they’ve got a commission to sell me.

He clicked the green check-mark button next to the username “Mccormick24”. Exactly where that name had come from, he couldn’t have told you, but who was he to judge someone else for their pseudonym?

Then the other party was typing, and soon enough the first message in their DM history had been sent:

Mccormick24: Hello?

Tim scratched his chin. His dad kept getting on his case about shaving every single day. Supposedly the process was not nearly so unpleasant if you remembered to do it daily as opposed to waiting until your face was positively scruffy. But he had only two hours online today, and he was going to make them count.

TinyTim2009: Hello. May I ask why you added me?

Tim pictured the real-life fingers of “Mccormick24” dancing feverishly around the keyboard, occasionally going back to correct a mistake like someone hastily jotting down an answer in an exam. An answer returned to him, surprisingly wordy given that it had been composed in not more than fifteen seconds.

Mccormick24: Because I’ve been looking for new people to talk to. And you seemed nice.

Tim responded thusly, giving himself a good few seconds to think it over before he hit the ENTER key to send the message.

TinyTim2009: You just joined the server we’re both in. Are you sure you know me?

Mccormick24: That’s why I sent you the friend request. I want to get to know you better. Isn’t that the point of being friends on Discord?

Well, I suppose it is. But how can you say you “know” someone on Discord if your only connection is through text and seeing one another’s profile pictures? Social interaction is a lot more complicated than that.

TinyTim2009: Yes. What do you want to talk about?

The other user’s response was almost instantaneous. Like the other guy (for the pronouns used on their profile were listed as “he/him”) didn’t even need to think about it. As if he’d rehearsed what he was going to say multiple times.

Mccormick24: What games do you play?

Of course he would say that, Tim thought as he considered his next message. That’s what everyone on Discord wanted to know. It’s like there was nothing else to life other than playing video games and chatting online. If the other Discord users knew better than to waste Tim’s two precious daily hours on this topic, everyone would have been better off.

TinyTim2009: I’ll admit I’m not much of a gamer.

Mccormick24: Are you KIDDING? You don’t play Fortnite or Overwatch 2?

TinyTim2009: I can’t play more than fifteen minutes of Fortnite without getting bored to tears. To each their own, though.

It’s almost offensive that he would presume I’m a hardcore gamer just because I’m on Discord. Almost. But seriously, why does he assume that?

Mccormick24: Dude, we should play Overwatch 2 online sometime. I’ll teach you how to win every game. No matter what character you want to main, I’ll make sure you’re a pro in two weeks.

TinyTim2009: I don’t know…

Just then, a news alert popped up on Tim’s computer screen. His parents had told him not to follow the news more than absolutely necessary; it could do great damage to one’s mental health. Terrible, yes, but still great.

Right away, Tim knew that all the networks would be picking up on this story. July 13, 2024 was a day that would live in infamy one way or another. Tim’s parents had told him about the September 11 attacks, which anyone old enough to remember could tell you exactly where they were when the Twin Towers had fallen.

Mccormick24: My parents are shouting down there. They don’t seem happy.

TinyTim2009: Did you see what happened?

Mccormick24: Trump got shot!

TinyTim2009: Do your parents support him?

Hey, I thought it was a reasonable question. Lots of Democrats are probably celebrating right now, my parents possibly included.

Mccormick24: They do. In fact, they wanted to be in Butler, PA for the rally. Good thing their schedules conflicted with it.

Tim hovered his fingers over the keyboard as he considered how best to respond. Eventually, he began typing again, picturing his parents standing beside him and watching his every word. Nothing on the web was private - his parents made sure he knew that very well. If he said something inflammatory and it could be traced back to him…nothing good would come of it.

TinyTim2009: I’m glad they’re okay. Not that I support Trump, of course.

Gulp.

He knew his parents were both Democrats, but just because his parents were voting for President Biden (despite their misgivings about his age and health) didn’t mean everyone else would. The year 2024 was a very divisive time in American history. And the thing about history is that it never ends.

Mccormick24: I don’t support him either. My parents get pretty annoying sometimes - they’re always listening to talk radio or some shit like that.

TinyTim2009: Do they force their views on you?

Mccormick24: They try. They throw out their favorite Bible verse, the one about “honor thy mother and father”, like it’s supposed to be unconditional.

Tim didn’t know much about the Bible - his parents had never emphasized religion. That being said, he was pretty sure “unconditional love” wasn’t supposed to come with a list of conditions. Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?

Mccormick24: They have to respect me too. The sooner I can get out of this town, the better.

TinyTim2009: What town? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.

Mccormick24: I do mind actually. Stranger danger and all that. My parents think that the instant I step out of my house, I’ll be scooped up by some rando in a white van and driven away, never to be seen again. Nobody would notice.

TinyTim2009: Sorry.

Mccormick24: It’s okay. You didn’t know.

Another question occurred to Tim, which he posed right away. It was the first thing the other person was supposed to know, as fundamental as your pronouns. You had to make sure you didn’t render your online friend uncomfortable.

TinyTim2009: How old are you?

The other person was typing, and it wasn’t more than a few seconds before Tim earned his desired answer.

Mccormick24: It’s okay. I’m 15. Yourself?

Tim smiled.

TinyTim2009: Same! I think we’re going to be good friends. Really good friends!

Mccormick24: Same! I’m down to play Overwatch next time.

TinyTim2009: Next time, yes. But right now, I have to log off.

Tim’s parents had warned him that other people online frequently wanted to talk for longer than his allotted two hours. If this happened, he was supposed to politely decline and build up enough willpower to leave Discord before he became addicted. (Some people, of course, were already there.)

Is this guy going to keep me on longer?

Mccormick24: That’s fine. TTYL, okay?

TinyTim2009: I’ll talk to you later. Bye!

Lucas Brigham 5/28/19 Lucas Brigham 5/28/19

Blog Post Title One

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.