#also entered into evidence: willow and gdb fucking hate eachother

[giulolosblackmail]

Willow's Bio

Though Willow is over a century old, he has still lived most of his life in Finsel and formed many meaningful relationships with the humans that live there. It is, perhaps, because of his love of individual humans that he despises humans as a whole. Around eighty years ago Willow came to know a boxer and his daughter living in the slums. The boxer’s daughter fell ill and they couldn’t afford to pay for her treatment, so the boxer began to gamble his life for a chance at saving his daughter, going up against opponents that were far larger and stronger than he was. Inevitably, he was beaten nearly to death and could no longer work. Willow, having not nearly enough money to help them himself, began writing poetry about the boxer and his daughter in a desperate attempt to bring attention to his friend’s situation. The poems became wildly popular among nobles, but the real-life inspirations behind the poems were ignored and died in poverty. Willow decided that humans don’t care about tragedy in the literal, only the theoretical where it serves as entertainment, and - finding the pen to be useless - turned to his much more reliable fists and fell into the Gang Territory. Willow’s worldview changed, and he came to believe that, “although the power of art leads to eternity, but to grasp the present, we must have force. Without the present, there would be no eternity.”

Taking his anger, grief, and frustration out on all those who stood before him by throwing himself recklessly into every fight he could find, Willow created a legend in the Gang Territory and amassed wealth and power. His symbol became the emerald studded brass knuckles that came to be known as the Legendary Seal of the Gang Territory, the weapon of the undefeated Champion of the Underground Arena. Legend has it that when the Gang Territory fell into a turf war fifty years ago, the battle raged for three days in what would later be called the Battle of Gang Territory. And from the chaos rose the victor, the Champion, the man with the ability to command wind and lightning, the strongest warrior in the Gang Territory. Willow won the right to rule, but found that it brought him no joy to amass power or wealth, and so he gave away his wealth freely and shied away from the spotlight; eventually the legend faded into obscurity after the Champion vanished, and now only rumors remain that that once great man has ended up working for a noble. There are many in the slums who remember the Champion not as a warrior, but as a man who gave away everything he owned to friends and strangers alike, who defended the weak with his own fists, bleeding for anyone who could not fight for themselves. It had never been his intention to help, only to find relief for himself. “I just thought they needed those things more than I did. Fighting made me happy enough.” Perhaps that is why he was eventually lured away from the Gang Territory.

A hollow life spent ever in fear of the next conflict and wounded from the last is difficult to maintain, who knows what the Duke Bavlenka of the time promised Willow to buy his loyalty, but Willow has been working under the Bavlenka Family ever since. He became something of a fancy pet, only ever seen draped in finery and singing sweetly for nobles at luxurious balls filled to the brim with wealth and excess. He lived well, but it was a life that made him sick. To cope, he spent all his free time sneaking away to the Slums to drink and fight to excess, even disguising himself to return to the Colosseum in secret. “Singing makes me feel less alone. And fighting, I feel as if I'm truly alive. When your life is almost eternal, time loses its meaning.” It was not until he met Magda Ellenstein that he began to find the dull routine of his life new and exciting again. Striking up a friendship, Willow found himself chasing after Miss Ellenstein as she caused trouble and shook Finsel by its roots, even going into battle during the climax of the Sulla War to help her. The Finsel that emerged from the rubble of war was changed, though it was unclear if it was for the better.

Whatever promise Willow had made with Duke Bavlenka all those years ago must have been somewhat shaken with the late Duke’s death, for Willow began to hide himself away from the new head of house, well enough that it took some time before Duke Gaelan Bavlenka learned of his existence. Willow seemed to hold a particular disdain for Gaelan Bavlenka, though was not alone in his dislike for the man attempting to navigate Finsel’s political landscape with entirely unearned confidence. It was not just Willow’s rebellion chipping away at the Bavlenka family’s united front and social prestige, though his was one of the first to be ended. Eventually Lou Bavlenka dragged him back to his duties, though Willow did not go gently. The first song he sang under the new Bavlenka head was the infamous Cursed Aria, a legendary song among the elves that had largely been lost to time, as no one wished to gamble their life just to perform it. Dedicating his performance to Lady Magda Ellenstein, Willow told her, "Once life loses its meaning, we must find a new one. I never cared about the future. It's unpredictable,” before confessing his love for her in no uncertain terms. It was his conviction and passionate love for Lady Ellenstein that weathered him through the song’s curse, and until his love for her fades, he can sing it as often as she will listen.

Like many others, Willow found himself falling for the charming Miss Ellenstein soon after making her acquaintance, pledging to come whenever she called so that he could fight her battles for her, this being both something of a confession and an attempt to keep Miss Magda from getting into trouble in the Gang Territory. He could only fall for her more as he watched her monumentous rise to power, and would continue to be enthralled by her care for people and her stubborn drive to improve Finsel, bridging the gap between the nobility and the Slums. In an ultimate act of passionate love, Willow placed his life on the line to sing Lady Ellenstein the Cursed Aria, though when she could not find the words to respond, he instead asked her to listen as he kept singing for her and her alone. Regardless of the direction Lady Ellenstein’s heart will follow, Willow will continue to be inspired by her, striving to improve himself as a man and a singer, and go on to dedicate himself to improving the lives of elves in Finsel.

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