#there's no one around to argue with me about it so it shall be permacanon on my blog

[hidesinhisarchived]

@opponentcompel asked: Whether family, friends or others - who were the most significant people during Mark's childhood?

mark's circle of people have always been small, but there were a few that have made a lasting impact on him. unfortunately, not all of them were good.

elijah cohen - mark's father and the biggest bully of his formative years. elijah had a certain image that he wanted each of his kids to fill. his eldest two fit that mold perfectly: the handsome jock and the straight a princess. mark, however, was different. from the very start, he was always off in his father's eyes. too sensitive. too quiet. too shy. too soft. these were qualities that were celebrated in his sister, but shamed in mark. mark's earliest memory of his father was when he was about three-four years old and his father was yelling at him for crying over a skinned knee, calling him names that no child should ever have to hear directed at them. these incidents didn't improve over the years. from trying to prevent mark from taking piano lessons when he was five ( one of the few times that mark argued with elijah and won ), from destroying his photography camera when he was seventeen after he was offered a chance to take a professional path with it, from all of the h*mophobic slurs thrown at him throughout the years, elijah will remain the source of a lot of mark's trauma and is the most reoccurring figure in his nightmares. he essentially washed his hands of mark when mark dropped out of college to pursue his dream of being a filmmaker. the two of them never really repaired their relationship in the following years.

francine cohen - mark's mother. gentle in her ways, caring, but overbearing and unable ( and unwilling ) to understand her youngest. she has only ever wanted the best for mark, even if that meant directly going against her husband to do it. mark adored his mother when he was younger, especially since she was one of the only people who indulged his moments of playing pretend and was the most prominent figure in his childhood films. it was why she got the joking name of the wicked witch because those were the kind of roles that mark would ask her to play. as mark grew older, he grew to resent how overbearing she could be, especially when it came to his dating life. however, she was the only person in the family who wanted to help him after he dropped out of college. despite elijah's wishes, she would send mark gifts and money ( when possible ) to help him out. they became close again after his documentary began to pick up traction. when it started making money, he would buy her things that he knew that she dreamed of having, such as a fancy coat and a star of david necklace from ti/ffany's. her sudden death when he was in his early 30's devastated mark.

richard cohen - mark's grandfather and elijah's father. mark never understood how a man like his grandfather could raise a man like elijah. his grandfather always supported and protected mark from elijah. his home often provided a sanctuary for the gentle boy. richard was the one who gave mark the bolex camera on his thirteenth that he still carries to this day. it was the last gift that he ever received from richard as the older man passed from a heart attack three weeks later. richard was a gentle and caring man who, like mark, had artistic talent but had never been allowed to pursue it. outside of francine, he was one of the first people to encourage mark to follow his dreams. richard is the kind of man that mark always strives to be: kind, considerate, and always willing to take care of those that he loves.

nanette himmelpharb - nanette was mark's neighbor, childhood best friend, and his first love. they were close ever since they could remember and a part of mark was always in love with her. she was golden and beautiful, kind and gentle. she never once criticized mark's interests and was always happy to be in his 'films' or play a round of pretend. when they started going to school, she was also one of the only people who would stick up for him. when his mom forced him to take ballroom dance lessons, nanette was happy to be his partner so that he wouldn't be as anxious. the two of them made an excellent pair and mark's mother always claimed that they would get married. they even began 'dating' when they were twelve and lasted until they were about fifteen. unfortunately, life intervened and tore them apart. nanette ended up moving away with her mother after her parents' divorce. mark and nanette drifted apart as a result. she's one of the few peers from his childhood that he would always think of fondly.

be/nny coffin - benny and mark met when they were about ten and benny's family moved to scarsdale. benny's family was less well off than mark's, but that didn't stop the two of them from becoming fast friends. while they were different, they still found common ground and got along extremely well. it wouldn't be until mark was well into adulthood that he would realize that the benny he knew after he got married to allison grey was not a new benny, but the benny that had always been there. mark's kind heart and deep feelings of friendship blinded him to the truth.