Gage_Buckley
How to Build a Cage. A gritty psychological thriller drama novel in the vein of exploring the toxic codependent aftermath of two childhood friends one a closeted felon spiraling with aggressive hyper masculinity, and the other the enabler. The story will show internalized homophobia and dead societal standards and toxic masculinity and codependent men A ten-year trauma bond between two boys destroying each other over a secret love. At sixteen, a young felon on house arrest moves into his childhood friend's cramped bedroom, sparking a severe, suffocating codependency where they realize they are both gay. While Robin accepts himself, the felon Seth traps himself in denial, fleeing into a performative straight life with a girlfriend where his repressed identity turns into severe toxic masculinity, misogyny, and outward homophobia. Reunited in their mid-20s, the two men must finally face the absolute agony of their connection, exposing a devastating, undeniable love that still burns beneath a decade of hatred, anger, and dead societal expectations.