Behind the Ink: Gabe Peterson

Alright, let’s talk about Gabe (Gabriel Evan Peterson). A fan favorite, and for good reason.

If you know me, you know I grew up on post-hardcore and emo. I was a wanna-be scene girl (I say wanna-be cause my mom wouldn't allow me to do the makeup 😭). BUT I’ve always been into guys wearing eyeliner, playing in bands, skateboarding, breaking their necks swishing their hair, all that stuff. Pete Wentz, Panic! at the Disco, MCR… they were basically my idols growing up. And for the record, I particularly have a thing for drummers. So at first, I actually wanted Gabe to be a drummer, but I switched him to a guitarist because it just felt more universally appealing and kinda fit his personality better, since guitarists often get the spotlight. (And would play off of Blair's fiery personality way better)

Drummer Gabe vs. Guitar Gabe

If he’d been a drummer, I think he’d definitely be more low-key and less cocky. He’d probably have this laid-back smugness rather than that flashy “frontman” vibe he’s got now.

I think the main changes would be in how he interacts with people. He’d be chill until someone really pushes him. Still smug, but not in an overt way, if that makes any sense? Like in that early scene with Blair in the closet, he comes off a little snarky, but if he’d been a drummer, I think Blair would have to poke him a whole lot more before he’d snap. I think we'd have to see a longer build and that would probably make Blair look more 'irrational'. (I'm imagining Blair literally yelling at a brick wall - level of stoicism from Gabe lol) Their fight might not escalate so fast, and Blair’s beef with him would probably revolve around how he doesn’t seem to care enough, rather than him playing into her anger and goading her. With the main character (MC), it’d probably be a little more of a slow burn, a subtle “will they, won’t they” kind of deal, which might make a big difference in their dynamic.

Gabe’s Humble Beginnings

As far as influences for Gabe, one thing I wanted was for my characters to start with certain stereotypes we see in movies, TV, or books, but I also wanted to add depth and subvert those typical tropes. Gabe really does fit the bad-boy persona in a lot of ways, but something I appreciate about him is that he’s very smart. That’s why he got into Sugardale on a music scholarship—he’s really, really good at playing guitar, and he basically learned to play by ear. He can probably figure out sheet music if you put it in front of him, but he hasn’t had formal training. He’s just got that mind for it. He also has a really sharp tongue, which plays into his wit, and I like messing around with that side of his personality.

Another thing I liked working with was Gabe’s background. He came from a rough, trailer-park kind of upbringing. I didn’t grow up in a trailer park, but I grew up in a not-so-great area, so I’m familiar with tough environments. Gabe’s relationship with his mom is something I saw mirrored around me—other's parents failing their kids, single mothers who struggled, absent fathers who were still technically “around” the neighborhood, causing trouble but really not around the house where they actually should be.

Gabe was once a bright optimistic kid , but that got dimmed in some ways and sharpened in others, leading to a lot of anger. I kinda compare the situation to Eminem's in some aspects, though Eminem wasn’t a direct, one-to-one inspiration. I just took a few elements from that dynamic portrayed and in his story and upbringing.

As for his family dynamic, you definitely get Gabe's take on his mom in Chapter 7. He’s given up on her. She’s just been too wrapped up in her own mess, and he’s learned it’s not worth the anger he feels when he tries to fix anything. With his dad he doesn’t have any warm, fuzzy feelings there either, though since he didn't have any chance to bond with him really there wasn't a chance to get angry at him I guess ? He basically had to raise himself (with some help from his friend Denny), and that set up a lot of his anger and distrust of people.

Inspirations & Character Design

A funny thing I hear is that people say Gabe’s sprite looks like Justin Bieber, which is hilarious because that was never the intention. (But I 100% can't unsee it now so... there's that) The real inspiration for his look was Andy Biersack—especially those big blue, downturned “teardrop” eyes. I just wanted that vibe. A very kinda carved out, sharp-featured boy. I also had crushes on Kellen McGregor (Memphis Mayfire) and Andy Glass (We Came As Romans), and all those alt-rock, metalcore dudes who played in bands with that swoopy hair and tattoos. So I drew pretty heavily from my big crushes from that time when thinking about putting Gabe together!

When I think about how he actually sounds, I think his voice is probably pretty close to Andy Biersack's in speaking, though, in singing, idk why, lately, I've been imagining him with the voice of the guy from Sleep Token (before that, it's just been the entirety of Polyphia's discography.) I just feel like Gabe would be able to pull off all those crazy guitar riffs on his own no problem and would absolutely kill it.

Musical Influences

If you're wanting to get into a Gabe-state of mine, I highly recommend checking out the following:

She thinks of me - Landon Tewers

Tempt Me, Temptation - A Skylit Drive (Particularly that opening riff, idk why, but it SCREAMS Gabe to me)

Centsless - Midas Well

Cum Captain - Landon Tewers (This is very hard to find on the internet, I think he may have scrubbed it, but I only care about the chorus anyways in this case. If you do find it, DO NOT listen to it in public for the love of god. lol)

Take Me Back to Eden - Sleep Token

Goose - Polyphia

Punch Drunk - Hail the Sun

Loser - Sueco

King Park - La Dispute

Troll - The Plot In You

Dreamer (Acoustic) - I the Mighty

Movies, Books and Other Media

!!!Spoilers!!! If you haven't gotten to the sex scenes with Gabe and don't want to know about how I'd gotten through the crafting of that, I wouldn't read further, but if you're curious, feel free to read on!

When putting sex scenes together, it's never a linear or regimented process. Sometimes the inspiration for the scene or scenes come first, sometimes the character themself lends to the scenes, sometimes the plot kinda leans into it, other times its just a stroke of spontaneity in writing and I kinda just gotta get writing before it escapes me. For Gabe, I knew he was always going to be a character that was going to be more open to kinkier things. So with that always being the case, it was just a matter of when, and how.

I realized that with his character, he could have a one-and-done situation, and could also very easily have a more tender situation with MC. Another layer ontop of all of that is the dynamic of a dom/sub thing, and a big part of that is that you need trust to be a part of that, something that can't be rushed. So with all those moving parts, I realized there were going to have to be two variations of the sex scene with him. And thats how we ended up with the PinkVibe and the apartment variations! (Of course, they also vary depending on if you follow his directions leading up to the weeks before then, and if you're a virgin beforehand etc,)

The scenes themself were inspired by prompts I'd seen funnily enough on Tiktoks and pins I'd saved on my pinterest. Intriguing spicy quotes, blurbs, images and things that got my mind going to try and flesh out how Gabe would react or respond in these "what if" scenarios. I also found a lot of help on subreddits that were geared toward kink-friendly folks. I specifically looked for people who posted for fun games they liked to play with their partners and over-stimulation came up a lot so I kinda took that and ran with it. Though, I will say, Gabe's scenes were probably one of the most exhausting to write for me and it wasn't just because there were so many different variations to think about.

I think a big part of it was just that there was an aspect of figuring out the mechanics of boundary setting within a game like this while not making feel too stop and go and also not making too much work for myself in the long run as well. Also, I think mentally, putting myself in MC's shoes took more out of me than I anticipated. It was a lot! I think in exploring the whole degradation side of things, there was exposure to stuff I don't particularly vibe with, so I had to walk the line and figure out how to write things in a way I could vibe with it, if that makes sense?

Other places I found good inspo was gonewildaudio, Augustinthewinter is a wonderful VA, and someone who isn't just audio (read: find him on the hub lol), but visual as well: Curlyheadedfuck.

As far as book similarities:

Check out Flock by Kate Stewart, you might get a lil Gabe vibes from Dom in there as far as temperament (read: asshole but you wanna fuck him so bad).

If you like his whole tortured-musical-genius bit, I'd maybe check out No Tomorrow by Carian Cole, Drive by Kate Stewart or Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

If you are just in the mood for an emo boy and REALLY well written smut check out Sheltered by Charlotte Stein. She is hands-down one of the best writers of smut. Its a quick read, and I cannot recommend her enough.

So while this may not be exhaustive of what it took to make Gabe the character he is, I think its a good peek into my head around the things that make him who he is! Thanks for reading this far, and stay tuned for future posts about the making of other characters and other behind the scenes in my writing process!

xoxo,

Pretty Ink