#his biography might read a bit messy sorry i had to leave out a LOT to keep it kinda short

[pandemoniumfm]

☆ –– Walking through the picturesque streets of Cardinal Hill, you find Morgan Love, the 41 year old mechanic at Romano's originally from Cardinal Hill. Living alongside them in such a small town, you know that they're bubbly and indiscreet, but what you might not know is that they are a human, and that they’re hiding something… ― ryan gosling, gay, cisman, and he/him.

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full name: morgan love nicknames: love birthdate: march 13 birthplace: cardinal hill age: 41 gender: cisman pronouns: he/him romance: gay occupation: mechanic at romano’s fears: thunder, bees likes: cars, walks, old music, cooking faceclaim: ryan gosling

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bio

tw: manipulation, death, depression

Coming from a long line of witches, Morgan was the only child of James and Leah Love, a young couple who were, despite their age, already known to be powerful witches.

Both came from prominent witch families that had been around in Cardinal Hill for several generations and shared a love for their craft, so when the young couple got their little boy they were determined to make him the greatest witch ever known to mankind.

Growing up morgan was taught all there was to know about being a witch, ever since he was a small boy his family made sure he knew the history by heart and was ready for what was expected of him in the future.

The couple, all smiles and smooth talking, were outstanding at forming connection with others. Happy to throw in a couple of compliments to get people wrapped around their finger. Connections were everything, this was something they had taught Morgan very early on in his life.

“Choose your friends wisely,” his parents would tell him. “Power and knowledge are everything.”

It was with those connections that they were able to get some of the best mentors to teach their young boy about being a witch. Next to their own teachings, they wanted the boy to be able to learn not only from their family, but other prominent families in their community as well.

And Morgan loved learning about the craft, sucking everything up like a sponge soaking up water. At night, he would dream of how much he would be able to accomplish once he gained his powers. Do all those great things his parents kept talking about, help people, form connections with other witches and teach them about their craft just like he had been taught.

Yet, once the time came around for the boy to start showing signs of his witch status, they never came. Morgan Love, only son of the prominent Love family, was a human.

His family was not happy with this outcome, forcing the young boy to keep his human status a secret from everyone and the young boy did.

During his teens his family would still teach him as if he were a witch, expecting the teen to still study his spells, but no matter how much he tried, nothing ever happened. Everything he had been working towards for his entire life was all for nothing and every time his grandmother taught him a new spell, which he had to repeat for her, he saw the disappointment in her eyes.

Of course, it didn’t stop there. His mother and father started avoiding him more and more, while still making sure to mingle with the witch population as they always had, smiles and all, pretending to be so proud of their protégé son and how well he was taking to his magic studies.

It was lonely, during the day, Morgan would learn useless spells, he would never be able to use these anyway, but still he tried his best and made sure he remembered every single one. This was all he’d worked towards; he didn’t know what else to do.

It was when the male turned eighteen that his family asked him about his plans for the future, marriage, starting a family, what were his plans? He didn’t know. All he’d ever known was right here, it wasn’t something that had ever crossed his mind.

But his grandmother had thought about it, long and hard and had come up with a list of young prominent witches of which she knew were more than eager to marry into their family, be it because they were power-hungry, or because they wanted to be known by others.

Morgan, young and stupid, listened to his grandmother and followed her ever demand. Meeting up with several of the young witches his grandmother had so kindly introduced him to, he soon realized this was not going to work. Despite this his grandmother decided to try one more time.

Taking the boy with her to several witch gatherings, she gave him the freedom to meet a witch in his own time and only several month later, that’s just what happened. Morgan had fallen in love.

A boy only several years later had caught his eye, and it just so happened that they had hit it off fairly easily, his grandmother was more than pleased with this, especially after later learning the witch in question was none other than Femi Makuto, a witch from a family that was slowly rising to power in their small community.

It didn’t take long for the pair to get closer, easily falling for one another and before they knew it their families had already planned the wedding.

Morgan was on cloud nine, his husband-to-be was the perfect man, kind, loving and man was he hot. His only problem was that his husband was convinced he was a witch, as did everyone else, and a powerful one at that.

Marriage was good for Morgan, the young couple slowly building a life together, but it was getting more difficult to keep his husband from finding out about his true nature and Morgan wanted nothing more than to tell him. When he confessed this to his family they shut him down completely. He was not to tell Femi anything, ever.

All the man could do was swallow his words and nod. What his family wanted was law, this much he had been taught very early on in his life.

Morgan had several more years with his husband before the man was taken from him, the event leaving the man heartbroken and traumatized. With his husband gone and no other means to life, the man moved back in with his family, who were quick to tell him he could just marry another witch.

His family kept him in their claws for near a decade after his late husband’s death. The man having been blamed by his late husband’s family for what had happened, while his family claimed it was his own doing and Morgan had nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile Morgan felt more than lost, he had lost his purpose in life, again and his family was still pressing for him to remarry. Did they not understand that he couldn’t? When his husband died, so did his ability to fall in love again, his husband had taken all his love with him to the other side.

It took several years of depression and being played like a pawn before Morgan realized something was not right. What was he still doing here? Was he really going to live the rest of his life being played by his family in their monopoly of fancy dinners and fake smiles?

And so, after lots of preparation and planning, it was on an early and cold autumn morning that Morgan left his family’s mansion at the edge of town and never turned back.

Now, several years later, Morgan has built a life for himself, finally feeling able to fully process the loss of his late husband and opening up to connect with others again.

[hatake-no-sharingan]

A Well Loved Copy (PART 1: Magical Places) 

Kakashi x Reader

Story Summary: Your cozy life as a bookseller is disturbed when a box of the worst books you could ever imagine arrives at your store, and with them a certain silver haired ninja to whom you are definitely not attracted.  

Relationship: Kakashi x Reader

Warnings: None

A/N: I wrote this first part a few days ago, but it still had a few things missing and I finally finished it today. I’m thinking it’s going to be at least 3 parts long (depending on how much my brain allows me to write) and that it’s going to be mostly fluff and romance, but I also want to add some angst. Hopefully you’ll all like it <3 Be kind and enjoy.

Magical Places

“God who even reads this crap” you tell yourself as you arrange the 20th copy of the latest Icha Icha Special Holiday Edition on the hot new arrivals shelf in the bookstore. “It’s unbelievable how they keep making new editions of the same trash and people actually buy them”

Last night, your boss had explicitly told you that he wanted the books in the most visible part of the store, because they were always a massive hit, unlike the beautiful short story books you had been forced to stash in a less noticeable shelf almost at the back of the store.

You spent hours admiring the graceful prose and the magical places they took you to, wishing your own writing was half as good. You knew most of those books by heart, and every time one of your favorite authors published one, you read it so many times until you could almost recite it word by word. That’s why your personal collection of books was small, but very well loved. Whenever you got the chance, you recommended them to customers, though almost none listened to you. However, those who did, always came back to thank you for it.

“It’s better to know one book intimately, than a thousand superficially” your mother told you when you were little, and to this day, the phrase stuck with you.

When your boss, the shop owner, told you to remove your favorite stories, the ones you knew intimately, from the best shelves to make space for what was basically porn disguised as a romantic thriller, it felt personal.

“I’m sorry, I know they’re good, but we need to give up the space for the best selling authors” your boss had told you yesterday night when he saw your frown as you removed them from sight. You ignored him for the rest of the time you were there while going through the new inventory together, and left the new arrivals unopened

“I’ll arrange them in the morning. If you don’t need anything else I’m leaving” you slipped your very worn book in your pocket, grabbed your keys and left.

That’s why people don’t read real literature, because it keeps getting hidden from sight and replaced with trash, you sigh.

Now you look towards the remaining boxes, the publisher sent way too many for your judgement, and decide to put them away in storage until more copies are needed, so you can still keep a few other not so crappy books on the star shelf.

When you’re returning from the storage room, you hear the door chime, signaling that a new customer is here. You check the time, barely 8:00am.

God, who’s here this early?

“IT’S HERE!” A silver haired man acting like a 6 year old in a candy store rushes in, and grabs 3, no, 4 copies of Icha Icha Special Holiday Edition without noticing he’s messing up your perfectly arranged shelf. “I literally waited a month for it! I need to read it now, it’s gonna be so good”

Is he talking to himself? Or to me?

The guy is bubbling with excitement, running his long fingers across the cover of the book on top. You don’t know why, but seeing the motion sends shivers down your very tired spine. You shrug, and start the computer to enter the day log into the system.

He walks to the counter, feeling giddy with the books and you get tense at the realization of who the guy you’ve been gaping at is.

The signature mask, the covered left eye and the nonchalant but confident walk give it all away.

He’s kinda hot in person, but his awful taste in books ruins it, you think.

“Would you like me to wrap those for you?” you manage to ask, pointing to the four copies he dropped on the counter. “Or would you rather do it yourself at home?” If I were his friend I’d kill him if he gave me that as a gift.

“Huh?”

“We offer a gift wrapping service.”

“Oh no, thank you, they’re not gifts. All four of them are mine”

“All four?” You ask, confused.

“Yeah, one’s my mission copy, another is my house copy, then the back up one, and the last goes on my shelves untouched”

“You must really like the series.” You say sarcastically, emphasizing on the word really.

“They are really good, contrary to popular belief. I know a lot of people judge them, but I swear if they actually read the series, they’d know it’s not just porn” he says with a chuckle, clearly aware you’re judging him.

“Ummm I don’t know” you say scratching the back of your head “I’d rather stick to real literature”

“Wait, you’ve never read them?”

“Nope”

“Not even one?”

“No no, wouldn’t want to waste my time”

“No wonder you’re staring at me like that” he says under his breath, and you pretend not to hear him. “What do you read, then? If you’re only into real literature”

You nod towards the last shelves in the room and then gesture to your own battered copy of The Cursed Beauties and Other Stories.

“They made me hide them away so I could make space for your special edition.”

“I’m sorry about that, maybe they can share a shelf next time.” Did he just smirk? Is he hitting on me? No, it must be me reading too much into things. “I’m Kakashi, anyway”

“I know, you’re kinda notorious amongst us booksellers, as the guy who buys too many copies of Icha Icha”

“Really?”

“No”

“Oh”

“You’re an important ninja okay?” He’s barely aware of it apparently “I have a few modern leaf history books here that mention you. And I think there might be a biography on you too, you’re definitely in the Yondaime’s. I had to read it for school, though I’m not very sure of how much truth is in it. Non ninja writers tend to exaggerate things huh? Not because I’m a ninja myself, becau-well, ummm I’m not, but I have read a lot, on ninjas I mean.” You get flustered when you catch yourself speaking a lot. He makes you nervous, alright? Even though he has bad taste in books and is a bit of an asshole, you can’t help but feel attracted overwhelmed by him.

You get an embarrassed smile from him too.

“I can’t imagine what in my life would be interesting enough to write about” he says, gently tapping his fingers to his temple “but I’ll tell you something, Icha Icha is interesting, way more fun to read than my life. I’d leave one of these copies here for you, but this isn’t the first book in the series, so you really wouldn’t understand it. But you should give the first one a shot, if you don’t like it, you’re allowed to hate me forever and judge my poor taste in books.” He heads for the door and makes his departure, but not before turning around and flashing you a big smile that you swore his whole face was glowing beneath all those coverings.

Something about him lingers with you for the rest of the day, as if he’d never really left the store.

The next morning when you come in, you notice there’s something inside the mailbox which catches your attention, only for the simple fact that you never get mailed anything small enough to fit in the mailbox. It’s always boxes upon boxes of books and gadgets related to literature.

You open it and take out a well worn copy that has definitely seen better days, of Icha Icha Paradise. There’s a small post it note stuck on the back cover scribbled with messy handwriting

Give it a shot, I promise you’ll like it. 

-K

P.S. Take care of it, it’s my favorite copy. Hopefully by entrusting you with it, you’ll decide to entrust me later with your own book ;)

Despite all your judgements and aversions to the series and the author, you make yourself a strong cup of coffee, sit back on your familiar spot, and open the book to the first page.

[fmdduri]

a headcanon about duri & his public image.

word count: 4,454. about: duri’s public image & how his career (both ecps and purchased claims) shapes things for a possible future nation’s title and the public nickname he currently has.  notes: i actually wrote a public image headcanon like five months ago on duri’s public image, however, with the restructure and the fact that i really want to hopefully claim a nation’s title, i wanted to rewrite the headcanon with ecps in mind, as well as any changes in duri’s individual career and how that shapes things! also this is so messy because i talk about things out of order in some ways to correlate with a previous bullet point before it. though this is def better written then my first go around. i also don’t know if any of this makes sense but sorry 2 anyone that reads this.

duri’s image is something that matches his real life personality, which is something that is truly a bit surprising, but he was someone that was seemingly too hard to shape into something else. trying to fit him into a image that was more so mysterious type of feeling, that goes along with titan’s concept, was rather difficult. but, still, duri was wanted in the group, so they just let him be soft and sunshiney - it was a good image. 

so, simply, duri is very bubbly to the public with his consistent friendliness, his giggling, being very positive, and being a bit talkative. he’s someone who always has a smile on his face and just incredibly happy. 

he’s also has that image of “fake maknae” where some people might mistake duri as the maknae due to his bright energy and the fact that he’s so bubbly, as well as being a “golden retriever” in a sense. he’s got all of this, despite the fact that he’s said to have a “dad face.” nonetheless, because he’s so bright, friendly, and constantly giggling, he gets mistaken to be the maknae sometimes. 

the public really liked this, but some people and even fans of the group had started that duri didn’t fit titan’s concept, he seemed like so out of place with how it was, so this was the criticism that duri had experienced early on. but, even that, that didn’t really disrupt his shine or caused any type of changes (not that you could even go back on it anyways.) 

duri is also known to have a very clean image, which kind of gets him a lot of bonus points with bc entertainment and is considered to be a “golden member” because of this. he tends to follow rules and doesn’t even really have much going on with himself. i’ve mentioned it before in threads (and in his image portion on his biography): he’s like kyungsoo getting followed by dispatch, only for dispatch to get annoyed because they couldn’t get anything, and released photos of him fixing his hair in the car window, that’s duri. which is probably another reason as to why bc entertainment took care of his saesang problem, rather than allowing it to go on. (sm could never with nct)

in general, duri tends to be rather approachable and has a lot of approachability in general. simply, he’s someone you want to go up to and get to know, leaving the public wanting to know about him, and this friendly boy whom seemingly seems to be a bit perfect, truth be told. that clean image really just kind of helped with him being approachable, as well as like probably people being like well why aren’t you like duri who’s so sweet, kind, and friendly?? not to mention, good at so many things?? that’s gonna get annoying quick, but it’s something i’m trying to drive with his public image, since it’s very fitting for him.

duri has always been considered to be very pretty and so, bc entertainment had kind of decided to take reigns on that as a way to cast a sheet over people saying that duri didn’t fit into titan due to how he is. so, he would become an ambassador for a year for beanpole, which was an interesting choice for duri’s image. but, it was clear that he’s someone that works out, so it did seem to make sense with what he was modeling for at the time (sportswear and outdoor-wear.) but, it really helped with his rather bright image. this sports thing would continue, however, when he would be casted in “cool kiz on the block” for a year. duri being good at all different types of sports, is something that would also help the public nickname that would come down the line, as a well as really start to build up his approachability in a way. it showed that he’s really good at sports and all that, as well, giving him yet another thing to be good at, and leave others wondering why they aren’t. 

in both 2012 and 2013, duri would simply surprise people with his songwriting capabilities when he wrote both the chaser by titan and gee by lily. the chaser having been titan’s breakout single and gee having incredible success. gee had gone a lot more well with duri’s bright image due to the lyrics, but duri also seemingly showed that he could be apart of titan’s concept with his songwriting for the chaser. but, because both of these songs had hit it big, it once again fed more into the public nickname duri would have years later. but, even so, these really helped with his image to the public through brightness and the fact that he can be mysterious. 

with the chaser, in mind, duri had managed to really show off being someone else. he always had that certain charisma and the ability to match his vocals to any emotion given for a song concept, but a slight change needed to be made in facial expressions, and he would finally gain that, proving that he did belong. he has a lot of those corny “duality” edits online from how he is on stage versus off stage, there’s truly too many and they’re all corny. but, duri is a really good performer with his charisma, facial expressions, and starting to really be able to keep up with dancing as a main vocalist. 

years following, duri would mainly establish himself as a song writer, mainly for b-sides, besides for the exception of title track “kokobop.” some of them were sad songs, with the sexiness of playboy, and the brightness of kokbop, which would help to establish duri in an image of a well-rounded songwriter who can be sad, sexy, or even soft. it’s “godly” in a way that he’s able to do write such different songs.

this is something that also carries into his solo work, and mainly looking at the promoted tracks. things like where you are gone, if only you are fine, beautiful goodbye, dear my dear, all of my life, goodbye, still love you, breath, and home all follow being ballads, soft, sad songs in a way have kind of added onto duri’s softness image and being well liked because he’s in the realm of ballads. however, he’s also able to show that he’s sexy with his tracks such as chocolate and candy, which show a different side to himself as an artist, helping to show he’s well rounded and even “godly” in a sense that he’s able to be a concept “genius” in some way. not to mention, in the future, he’s releasing traffic light, which is a lot brighter that some of the other songs that he’s done, that will help to add onto his songwriting skills being godly, being godly at concepts, and adding to him being bright - even if the song can be a bit sad lyric wise. lil’ something is another song that is slightly brighter in a way, which also shows off more of his capacities, since the music of the song is a bit different as well. 

baskin-robbins brand ambassadorship is another thing that had really upped duri being seen as bright, considering baskin-robbins is such a bright brand. not to mention, how sweet duri is, and being seen as sweet as ice cream, possibly helped as well. nonetheless, this helped to really show off that sort of sweetness, softness, and brightness that duri holds as well. this kind of feeds into the more approachability portion of duri’s image, just due to that brightness and really the sweetness of it, truth be told. 

the most interesting choice was probably duri being casted onto dunia: into a new world. which was based off an online game that duri had never played, but you know. this also showed off some of his acting skills, which he doesn’t use all that often, considering the “unreal” variety aspect of the show itself. i think this was something that kind of showed a pretty cool side of duri, especially since he did really well with the fact that he had to portray his memories being lost when returning the game in episode nine, after passing away in the game in episode six to save two of his fellow game members. nonetheless, this kind of strayed a little bit from duri’s softer, brighter image (expect for the fact that he would constantly giggle and laugh as well at times when everything was real, thank you yunho for being so true.) i think this also helped to make him look a bit more godly, as well as helped with approachability, in the way that he really took care of a lot of people in the cast themselves and honestly he truly was just cute the entire time. it kind of just gave him this look with being cool and all that, another thing that could really just help sons getting compared to duri.

duri also has a lot of magazine covers that could be mentioned here, that kind of help with him being a bit of a pretty boy visual, that really helps to shape things. they’re all kind of different in their own way and don’t really follow the same thing, but i think it’s kind of been something that has helped him out, especially since duri has been known to be insecure, even though he got visual work pretty early on. nonetheless, i think this has helped push him as a bit of people looking at him like a god because he’s so pretty, you know? like he’s had to be sculpted by gods and all that. 

one thing that seems to be really important to duri’s career and even his image has been his work with coca-cola as their brand ambassador. in the words of coca-cola, he’s rather bubbly like the soda and his brightness brings exactly what they want, he seemingly just makes sense as the brand ambassador. however, he did stop being their ambassador to focus on other ventures, before eventually coming back, and later becoming the asia pacific ambassador of the brand. though, i think this one feeds more into duri’s image of being soft, bubbly, happy, and sunshiney - rather than really the whole god aspect of his image that has come about, with this going more into the approachability because of just how coca-cola is, you know? it’s very much not “godly” in anyway, but follows more of an umchinah image. 

another thing that brought some difference to him was k2 brand ambassador, that kind of went back to those sporty-outdoorsy type of thing, since he was endorsing running shoes for different types of terrains. it may be sports, but this is definitely something that leads more to brighter and more of that approachability over all. it’s all those smiles and the warmness that duri more so portrays within the cf and other parts of the brand for k2.

there was also his first luxury brand ambassadorship for pasha de cartier. this played more into his god like pretty visuals, with people being kind of enchanted more so by his godly charms and godly looks, rather than the watches themselves. but, it was more so if i buy that watch, i’ll be godly like him. plus, because it was different from his brighter ones, it was godly in the sense of him being able to take on something that wasn’t like him or his image, i think that’s kind of the pattern with him in a way - he’s bright, but godly in the same light. even though that tends to be two completely different things. however, due to it being pasha de cartier, it led more into the “chic” portion, rather than an approachability. 

in 2022, duri gets his second luxury brand ambassadorship, in the form of boy de chanel. this is something that kind of feeds a little bit more into his soft, pretty image, as well as helping with that approachability, simply because it’s making “men’s makeup” approachable in the sense with having duri be the face and showcasing himself, which is approachable and soft; as well as almost being someone you want to be, someone you’d be compare to. “look at duri, he’s so good looking. you should wear boy de chanel, so you can be just like duri. see how well he takes care of himself? you should do that too.” 

winning masterchef korea celebrity kind of added more into his image, as someone who’s able to be domestic, and like the fact that duri also has smarts and can do things like this, basically has people falling at his feet in some way, and i think something else that he can be seen as approachability and leads even more into being compared to duri because he’s also good at cooking. again, what can’t this man do and why isn’t my son also like this?? you should be more like that duri guy, my son! (this probably also got him a lot of flirting on variety shows and older people trying to set duri up with their granddaughters, which of course he’s disinterested in cause he doesn’t swing on that vine.) it really added onto his usual pure image and, again, helped with approachability. 

another important thing would be the fact that duri was a host on music bank, which lasted for a year. this kind of showed more of him being a bright, friendly, bubbly, type of person as he hosted the show, as well as his interactions that he would have with suji. the public seemed to really like it and kept an eye on duri, some people even watching the show every friday, simply because they wanted to feel duri’s warmth through the screen again. again, however, this isn’t really something that really adds onto the godly image all that much? it’s just another thing that duri’s good at, aka hosting, but hosting isn’t something that had really come to duri in any other ways, besides for his small stint on the show for three months. otherwise, his hosting capabilities are most known for what was shown on music bank. in a way, this also was rather approachability - and another park bo gum claim from me in a way, but because he was showing his sunshiney, warm, friendly self on television again through hosting, this added onto approachability through that sort of way.

duri dipped his toes into acting like one time, and that was his cameo in itaewon class, where he was the chef interviewee for sooah’s café. this was simply done because of his win on masterchef korea celebrity, as well as the popularity that he holds, and also because he’s pretty. this was something that could of brought duri really into the acting world and made him more in a way of being an all-rounder. however, duri has no interest in being an actor and has turned down roles offered out of not having interest in doing so. but, still this really added onto him being cute because he was just so shy and cute in this role, pulling at heart-strings all over again. that, sweet, sweet, approachability. 

one of the most godly things duri probably has all around is the fact that he has a viral moment from 2019 where he had managed to break the camera during archery at isac. he was trying really hard to show off that he’s good at sports, but he hit right in the middle of target, which resulted in the camera breaking, and the crowd cheering. which just caused him to go back to his usual cute self, laughing rather hard, and his ears going red out of embarrassment. 

however, i think this also kind of leads into approachability again? though, this is mainly based off of his reaction towards him breaking the camera during his viral moment. in the way that duri started giggling and got embarrassed, especially when the crowd had gone wild, and the other information lingered above really helping with that. it was truly adorable, truth be told. 

i think it’s important to talk about the appearances on variety shows, like running man, the return of superman, pajama friends, and let’s play basketball. running man and let’s play basketball are probably the ones that had fit into the godly image a lot more than the return of superman and pajama friends. due to the more sporty natures of running man and let’s play basketball, where duri had won the donation prize in running man and mvp in let’s play basketball, it made him look good, and another thing like this man is godly! he’s so good at everything that he’s done these in this episode, which just leads more into umchinah and approachability over everything. pajama friends and the return of superman were more bright shaping than anything, especially the return of superman showing off how good duri is with kids and knowing what he’s doing. pajama friends was kind of just an adorable thing of duri bringing a gift and being a great friend in a way, especially with him being a bit more shy with some of the cast members. which, again, these things were very much of that approachability because of his personality and brightness. 

of course, there was also duri’s extended guesting on crime scene season 2, where he also showed off this fun, bubbly, godly-esque type of image. he did incredibly well as both a detective and criminal, even though he lost one of the episodes as a criminal, but he was able to still fool others. call it good acting, others thought he was godly with being rather smart and ability to switch between what was needed of him. more of that ability to be compared to duri can happen this way because he once again showed a lot of smarts in being both the detective and criminal. 

osts and solo music don’t need much mention, i think, since that just kind of establishes of being able to really carry himself out of titan, and being a successful soloist and incredible vocalist - i think masked singer and immortal singers is another part of this as well, as it doesn’t really add to the image besides for those few things. 

one last thing, and more recent, being his third main casting (first purchased with points) of sea of hope. this one is more of a comfort and shows off god-like vocals, as well as the fact that he gets to show off the baking side of himself, rather than the cooking that he’s shown off for a rather long time. this only has the god-like vocals, but nothing more that would go with the god image, over that soft portion of his image. instead, this would go for the approachability and umchinah stuff, due to it leading more into that image that he has, over being god-like, like his public nickname. the softness, the brightness, and everything like that. 

his most recent main variety casting is little forest, which is something that i think really feeds into that approachability/umchinah type image. it’s that warm, bright, caring, and friendly nature that shows even more again. especially because he’s around little kids and essentially taking care of them, as well as the fact that duri is going to be building stuff on the playground and etcera as well for the kiddos. not to mention, before the filming of little forest, duri got a childhood psychology certificate to kind of help him out more with his role within the variety show. i think this really just helps him out on the whole “mother’s friend’s son you get compared to” because it’s again him being good at studying, good at making things, and being really good with kids. so, now that duri’s done this, everyone’s sons are just about to get compared to him once again. but, again, good with the whole approachability aspect and all that. 

the brand ambassadorship of ghana chocolate that has really helped to shape his image even more for him to be compared to people’s sons, mainly because of the sweetness and cuteness that came along with the cf that was put out for it. with the setup of you really being up-close to duri, it creates a sense of approachability, something that duri has really become known for. you’re almost dating him, in this sense, in the cf and you’re seeing his sweetness first hand. it creates the whole, “oh, why can’t you be sweet like duri is? look at him in this cf! you should be more like him.” the whole boyfriend image being given is something that creates more approachability for duri and goes along with what is wanted for his image that bc entertainment is fully pushing - simply because it’s duri in every sense. 

the samhwa soy sauce cf is something that can very much be tied back into duri going onto masterchef celebrity korea, which is something that helps with his approachability, as well, again, being known for his cooking, which is something that helps in this. he’s someone you want to approach as a friend in this sort of sense, especially because he’s serving you food with samhwa soy sauce. he’s someone who likes to share meals, so with him essentially sharing a meal in the cf itself, it adds onto his approachability because you know he’s going to share with you. 

in may, duri went viral following the release of the samhwa soy sauce cf. a video of him having good manners with the staff on the set was posted online and it was something that had quickly gone viral. already, duri is known for himself outside of being an idol; of him being friendly, well-mannered, and kind, which skyrockets with seeing this. it really makes you feel like you can approach him. not to mention, the things that could be said - he’s tidy - why can’t you be tidy like him? - as well as following him being good-mannered - you see how he helped out staff when he didn’t have to you? why can’t you be more like him? - among a few other things that can be said in the lines of duri being the friend you parents compare you too, etcetera. 

looking more into food/beverage cfs/ambassadorships, something that’s really fitting for duri in generally, and really fits into that whole approachability image that he has, they’re something that really works. there’s a certain comfort to these cfs, even if they’re a bit wild sometimes with how exciting they are, but duri’s at the forefront of this comfortability and approachability. 

in september of 2022, duri would become the brand ambassador of nescafé crema, adding onto his food/beverage ambassadorships, a genre of ambassadorships that duri tends to find himself most comfortable in. nonetheless, this really helps to add onto the multiple images that duri tends to have; but, the most important image of approachability and things of that nature. it’s that soft nature of the cf and just the way that duri is, being very friendly with the camera, as he usually is. in a sense, it feels like a friend is making you a cup of coffee and making a cup of nescafé crema is something that’s easily done, as duri showcases it in a sense. 

new world is something that’s a bit different for duri’s image, but it’s something that, in the end, still manages to tie into duri’s image overall, nonetheless. he’s shown as friendly and bright, which is also very much shown in him being the youngest cast member on the show. he’s also smart and he’s playing the game in a rather smart way, that people wouldn’t seem to suspect - i think this would also kind of show a “why can’t you be smart like him?” in one way or another because of what he’s showcasing. but, he really just being his natural self the entire time, which would you feel like you could be friends with duri, again the approachability that i keep constantly mentioning.

with everything in mind, netizens had managed to dub duri as “god duri” in 2021. in this case, while others might think of godly as something else, duri got it because netizens believe that he’s good at everything and he’s shown it in these ways. he’s able to take on different concepts through music and song writing, as well as variety, modeling, and everything in between. not to mention, he’s considered to have “god-like visuals” because he’s someone that’s really pretty and has a rather nice body, even if duri doesn’t agree with the god-like visuals aspect that’s been placed on him. the god duri nickname is kind of simple in that way, in the way that he’s really impressive.

he’s more of a bubbly, bright, friendly, sunshiney, golden retriever, type of image, he’s also a god because of the things he’s done in and out of titan. at this point, it’s more so something that he shows in one way and isn’t two sides of a different coin, it’s all one in the same and goes together in it’s own special way, even if it seems like it’s something that doesn’t work. not to mention, he’s got a clean image, as he’s never had a scandal, and maybe that’s godly too, he’s got to be a god because he hasn’t done wrong doings like others may have done. it’s a weird way to put, especially since duri isn’t perfect by any means or anything like that, but this is how netizens tend to see it.

however, even though duri has the public nickname of “god duri”, god isn’t fully the image that’s being going for and nation’s god is ultimately something that wouldn’t really fit him fully, due to the fact that he’s not really “chic” in a way. instead, he’s more so on the end of “approachability” within his own image as sunshiney, bubbly, friendly, warm, and caring. not to mention, a lot of claims (of variety and modeling really) tend to fit that approachability simply because of how duri is and what he tends to go for within those types of realm. he’s not someone who’s chic and definitely the type of image he has + his personality, doesn’t really suit chic. however, it really suits approachability, as does the claims that he has done (at least, most of them, to say the least.) this is kind of just the track his claims are taking him!

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu Fanfiction: Dating... With Children - Chapter Two

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot:  Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn't have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that...

((Chapter two, ya’ll! Thank you to everyone for their support on this story so far, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! ^v^))

“...What’ve you got there, baby?”

Mikey smiled, and held the drawing - consisting of crayon, marker AND a bit of paint - up for his father to see. “Lots of drawings!” he replied, “Didn't wanna choose one, so I made ‘em all! Like this guy here is a super cool dragon, an’ here's his friend who’s a turtle that can skateboard, and this is a bee that's always makin’ up words and making people spell them!”

“Heh, I'm sure I know what that's inspired from,” Lou chuckled, remembering how Raph shared that his class was having a spelling bee a couple weeks ago. He sat and listened to his youngest explain each doodle, nodding and making quick comments of his own as he did so.

“And that's all I really have so far,” Mikey finished, setting the paper down, “but I think I wanna try to add a few more drawings. Maybe some stickers too, THEN it'll be perfect!”

“Alright,” Lou nodded, “But when you're finished, would you please clean off the table? Remember, we have company coming over tonight.”

“Oh yeah! Don't worry, Papa, I will!”

“Good,” Lou smiled, ruffling his curly hair and making the boy giggle, “Thank you.”

“I'm glad Dr. Draxum is coming over,” Donnie spoke up from the beanbag, looking up from his textbook, “I wanna talk to him more about science stuff. And look!” He held up his book - ‘The Building-Blocks of Life’. “I'm reading up on genetics too! And I'm pretty sure I’ll be about as smart as him on it by the time I'm finished.”

Amused, Lou raised an eyebrow. “I didn't realize they were teaching genetics in the first grade.”

“They aren't. I finished my work early and got to go to the library again.” “Ah.” Lou made another mental tally in his head. The school hadn't said anything yet, but if this kept up, he'd have to go there himself and look into possibly moving Donatello up to Raph’s grade. “Can you believe that some kids aren't even interested in looking at the big kid section of books? Or at the non-fiction section? Those are the best sections!”

“Heh, no, I can't. But then it's a good thing that you can appreciate them.” He began to stand up, but stopped when his ears picked up on something. Some quiet whispers, a couple soft footsteps… The martial artist smirked, and prepared himself.

After a couple seconds, he felt something heavy run into him, slamming him to the carpeted floor. He let out an “OOF!”, unable to help himself, while giggles filled his ears. “I got you, Pop!” Raph grinned, “You're pinned!”

“Oh, are you sure?” Lou asked, “because I think-” He twisted his body quickly, knocking a surprised Raphael off before scooping him up into his arms, making the boy squeal. “That I have YOU!” Raph squirmed in his father’s grip while Lou gave him a couple quick noogies before kissing him on the top of his head.

“Daaaad!” Raph groaned, sticking his tongue out. Lou just laughed, letting the boy go.

“Told ya you couldn't beat him, Raphie,” Leo said, grinning at the whole scene as he sat on the arm of his pop’s chair, growing legs swinging, “He's like, the best fighter in the whole world!”

“Yeah well, I still pinned you for a second, right Pop?”

“Mm-hm,” Lou nodded, “Though next time, make sure to actually pin them once you have them on the floor. Don't just sit on them, but try putting your hands and weight on their shoulders. Makes it harder for them to move, slows them down some.” After a moment, he added “But, maybe don't try to tackle our guest tonight, hm?”

“Heh, I won't.” “Good. Now why don't you and your brother wash up?” Raph and Leo both glanced down at their grass and dirt covered limbs, grimaced at them and dashed out of the room.

Still chuckling a bit to himself, Lou picked himself off the floor and headed back into the kitchen. He had already started prepping a couple dishes, but he still had plenty left to do for their meal. His smile softened a bit as he thought about their guest…

It had taken five days for Draxum to call him. In that time, Lou had tried looking him up online. Draxum’s social media was pretty standard, nothing offensive or red-flag raising but nothing too interesting either. The only other piece of the man online was a brief biography on his lab’s research site along with a photo - where he had a very serious and professional expression on his face. A far cry from the fairly casual man he had met at the art gallery.

When he did finally call, it had been late at night, just after he'd put the boys to bed and right before heading to bed himself. Lou had wondered if perhaps this was planned, as a sort of “welp, I tried calling but there was no answer, oh well” type of thing. But Lou had answered, and much to his (and certainly to Draxum’s) surprise, they had ended up talking for a couple hours.

The conversation had started out pretty slow and standard. Lou asked how his day at work was, and Draxum asked how he and the boys were doing. After a while though, things became a little more natural, and their conversation almost became more of a banter. They’d go back and forth, discussing their favorite forms of entertainment, hobbies they enjoyed, and even sharing a couple personal anecdotes. And after all that, there was no way Lou wasn't going to end the call by inviting him over.

Draxum told him he'd have to check his schedule. It only took until the next morning for Draxum to text, letting him know that he would be free the following weekend. Again, Lou couldn't help but wonder if Draxum actually had to check his schedule or if he just didn't want to appear to eager, but said nothing. Instead, he simply gave him a date, time and his home address, and let him know that he was looking forward to it.

Lou had to admit, Draxum wasn't usually his type, but he was still unique enough to catch the ex-movie star’s interest. After all, how many buff science-type bookworms did one meet in their life? Draxum was certainly intelligent, and had a bit of a dry wit but never seemed like a snob. He was a bit stiff but not boring, spoke his mind and, if Lou was really being honest, was so hot. (Again, buff bookworms. Who knew?) Plus, his kids really seemed to like him too. In Lou’s opinion, that last bit was the most important one of all. So, with all that in mind, Lou just figured: “Eh, why not?”

It was funny how often that phrase came up during the big decisions in his life - like when he had decided that he wanted to try being a father when almost everything else in his life seemed hollow, and ended up adopting four kids instead of just one.

---------

Draxum looked at his watch. 5:17. A bit early but, wasn't that better than being late? Really, it was a good sign he was there at all, given that he was still a bit surprised at himself for even accepting the invite. ...Not that spending more time with Lou was necessarily a bad idea...

He then glanced up at the house he was now in front of. Having never actually been invited to a celebrity’s home before, he hadn't quite been sure what to expect. But a medium sized, cozy looking and slightly run-down home in Brooklyn certainly was a bit of a surprise. Maybe making action movies didn't pay as well as Draxum thought.

Still, he kept these comments to himself as he went up the walkway that was littered with chalk drawings and up to the door, knocking twice. It took a couple moments for someone - one of the boys, the one with light patches of skin around his eyes who was wearing a blue tee - to open the door. “You know the password?” He asked.

Draxum’s expression twisted slightly in annoyance, but he kept his cool. “Open says me?” He guessed.

“Mm nnnnope, sorry.” With that, the door was slammed in his face. From the other side, he could hear more young voices, scolding and lightly arguing with each other. The door opened again, and one boy had become four. “I was just joking!” Leo insisted while Donnie continued to glare.

“Hi, Dr. Draxum!” Mikey greeted with a wave.

“Sorry about my dumb brother-” “Hey!” “You can come on in,” Raph added.

Draxum nodded. “Thank you,” he said, moving his arm a bit so he could reveal more of the small box he had been carrying. “If you hadn't let me in when you did, this probably would have melted.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Wait, you brought cake?! Well you should’a said so!”

With a ghost of a smile on his face, Draxum walked inside. The living room to the Jitsu home was inviting and very much in-use, but not the cluttered and messy space that Draxum had been worried it might have been. There was a reclining chair, a love seat, two kid-sized beanbags, a coffee table with several colorful marks now permanently on it, and a flat screen tv that was playing some cartoon. There were a couple toys on the floor, though not enough that Draxum had to worry about tripping over anything, as well as a few framed pictures on the wall. One of Lou at what looked like some award ceremony, one of him with a Chinese woman (ex wife, perhaps?) and of course, one of him with his children that looked like it was taken just a couple years ago.

“Hey, Doc!” a voice called from the kitchen, bringing Draxum out of his thoughts, “How’s it going? You find the place alright?”

“Yes, there's this wonderful thing called a gps that really helps,” Draxum dryly replied.

Lou chuckled, smiling at him over his shoulder, and blinking when he saw the ice cream cake in the taller man’s hands. From the look of the packaging, he could guess that it came from a pretty high end bakery. “Oh, you didn't have to bring anything.”

“Well, you said you were making supper, I figured the least I could do was bring dessert,” Draxum told him, “Should I just put this in the fridge, then?”

“Yeah, go right ahead.” Draxum did, and then sat down at the table. He noticed that Lou was just in a loose fitting, pale yellow tee and some jeans. Immediately, he felt overdressed, even if he himself was just in a button-up long sleeve shirt and some dark khakis. Still, Draxum tried to look as ‘casual’ as possible, but clearly it wasn't working by the way Lou kept glancing back at him from the kitchen counter

“I'm glad you could make it, by the way,” Lou spoke up, trying to break the ice a little, “I'm sure you get pretty busy, being a scientist and all.”

“Actually, unless I hit a big breakthrough or doing work on a time sensitive project, it's pretty much a nine-to-five job most of the time,” Draxum replied, “The work stays steady, at least.” Lou nodded, and went back to his cooking. Not wanting to risk falling into uncomfortable silence once again, Draxum decided to ask something that had been on his mind since they first met. “And what do you do for a living these days, given that your last film was in, what, the early 2000s?”

Rather than being offended or caught off guard, Lou just smirked. “...You sure you're not a fan of my films?”

“Definitely not,” Draxum retorted so quickly that it made Lou laugh

“If you say so! Anyway, yeah, that was about the time I moved from LA to here. I was smart about my last few paychecks, so I pretty much live off my savings.

Draxum blinked. “...Seriously?”

“Seriously. Though, I know I can't use ALL of it - I know at least one of my kids is going to be going to college - so I do odd jobs when I need to. Make appearances at conventions, do a quick commercial or two sometimes- heh, last year I was even paid to play on a gameshow. A stagehand kept an eye on the boys as they watched me play from the audience, I won some money for a charity, and then the next day I took them to Disneyland. Used most of that paycheck to do it, too. So, I guess you could call me a bit of a sellout.” Though judging by his tone, Lou didn't seem bothered by this at all.

“I don't think anyone could really blame you for taking less time consuming work,” Draxum offered, “Still, do you ever miss making movies, as cheesy as they are?” Or rather, were.

Lou thought for a moment as he tossed the last few ingredients into the frying pan. “...Yeah,” he admitted, “I do. Though, there are plenty of things about the industry that I definitely don't miss, and besides…” His smile softened a bit. “I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time.”

Suddenly, there was a shout. Turning in surprise, Draxum looked through the doorway and watched as Donnie tackled a laughing Leon to the floor. “...Speaking of which, do you know that your kids are tackling each other?”

“Oh yeah, they do that sometimes,” Lou nodded, not even moving from the counter, “Boys will be boys and all that. They're going to roughhouse no matter what I say, and as long as they follow the rules, I usually don't need to step in.”

“Rules?”

Setting down his stirring spoon, Lou counted them off his fingers. “No holding anyone down for more than a couple seconds, no using force to get someone to play what you want to play, if someone says they don't want to wrestle then just leave them be, and no making anyone cry. They're good boys, so that last one is usually punishment enough when they accidentally break it.”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. Well, that was one way to teach kids how to control their strength and think about their actions. Still, he wondered how Lou would go about things once his sons got a little older and possibly became interested in following in their father’s martial arts footsteps.

It didn't take much longer for their supper to be finished. The kids came to the table without even needing to be called, smelling the food and eager to eat as well as being excited to talk with their guest again. While Raph and Leo told Lou all about the latest exciting climax in their cartoon, Mikey shared one of his drawings with Draxum, who could only stare at it.

“It's, uh…” He tilted his head a bit, staring at the mess of bright colors and scribbles. What on earth was it supposed to be? A natural disaster mixed with a rainbow? “...Very nice, yes.

Mikey beamed. “Really?! Which one is your favorite?”

Shoot, there was more than one drawing there? Well, that at least explained why everything was so cluttered. “Er, well…” He focused a little more on the drawing, and try to find anything that resembled something other than a blob or a tumbleweed to him. “I like this… Cat. Yes, this cat over in the corner, with the… Ice cream on it?”

Mikey looked back at the paper. “That's not a cat.” “Oh, sor-” “But that's a good idea!” The boy gave Draxum another bright smile. “I’ll draw you a kitty with ice cream later, kay?”

“Heh, very well,” Draxum nodded, relieved that he didn't offend the young artist.

“-And then, they used the magic sword, and blasted the bad guys right into the sky!” “Yeah, and the main hero guy said the BEST thing afterwards! He's soooo cool!”

“Well of course, he IS the main hero, after all” Lou chuckled, setting the last of the dishes down at the table, “Donnie, please put your book away now.”

Donnie frowned, reluctantly closing his half-finished textbook. “Fine…” As he placed it back into his ever-present backpack, Draxum managed to catch the book’s title.

“Genetics, hm?” He asked, smiling a bit. Perhaps the boy had been inspired. “Enjoying it so far?” Donnie nodded, keeping his eyes on the silverware in front of him.

The meal was fairly simple. A baked fish as the main course, with fried rice and an easy-to-make salad as the sides. Still, what it lacked in uniqueness, it more than made up for in good flavor. “I'm usually not much of a fish eater, but this is quite good,” Draxum commented, after only a couple bites.

“Mm-hm,” Lou smirked, “I'm not just a handsome actor-martial artist, after all. I know how to cook.” Draxum just rolled his eyes, mildly amused at his date’s cockiness.

“You should try eatin’ the fish and the rice at the same time,” Raph advised, “They go really good together!”

Draxum was the type to keep his food, as well as the tastes and textures, separate while he ate, but he did try the combination once just to appease the eldest Jitsu child. As he continued to eat, Draxum kept glancing over at Donatello out of the corner of his eye. The boy in purple nibbled and picked at his food, fidgeting a bit and staying silent. Certainly different from the eager and inquisitive boy Donnie had introduced himself as, so what had brought on this sudden shyness?

Was it something Draxum had said? He couldn't think of anything that could've been taken as discouragement or dismissal. So, maybe Donnie just didn't care for his field of science but didn't want to offend Draxum by saying so? No, that didn't seem right either. So then, what-?

He noticed Leo leaning over, whispering to Donnie for a moment before being nudged away. Rather than being annoyed, Leo just looked a bit concerned while his twin just looked… Embarrassed? An epiphany went off in Draxum’s mind. So THAT was why Donnie wasn't talking to him.

“Donnie,” he began, getting the boy’s attention, “I was wondering if you had any thoughts on your research so far?”

Donnie continued to squirm, squeezing his fists in his lap. “I-I mean, I'm still reading through the book so, so I'm not really an expert on it yet.” Truth be told, while he liked all sciences, he had really taken a shine to robotics and technology the most. “But talking to you ‘bout it before gave me a good head start, and I know the basics of it already and, um…”

“Yes…?”

“A-And, I…” Donnie scowled before suddenly shouting, “I have a scientific theory! A-About genetics, I mean.”

Draxum nodded, keeping composed (because, wow, even he could admit this was kind of adorable). “May I hear about it?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice neutral to avoid sounding patronizing, knowing that a child as smart as Donnie would definitely notice.

“Well… O-Our genes are inherited from our birth parents, right? So we only have a possibility of getting what they, or the rest of their people in their family, had. But, maybe there could be a way to, um, switch out genes somehow? Maybe with gene samples from other people, or with genes made by scientists, and then those new cells could develop and make whatever kind of person with whatever features they wanted.” Donnie winced a bit once he was finished, and waited for Draxum’s reaction.

The scientist hummed. “Well, that is a sound theory. Perhaps a bit difficult to test at the moment, but I can understand the basis of it, as well as see how it could be possible one day.” Donnie’s eyes widened. He stared back at Draxum, and began to grin widely, as if he had just received the best compliment ever. Draxum held back a chuckle. “Would you like to discuss this theory further?” “Yeah!”

Unsurprisingly, once Draxum began sharing the concept of gene mutation, the conversation devolved into a mix of scientific theorizing with some sci-if-esque levels of speculation (Donnie) and a debate over which animal features and mutations would be best to mix with people (the rest of the boys). Still, the discussion was no less enjoyable, to the kids or to Draxum.

And as for Lou, he just watched and listened, a warm smile on his face. This may have been their first shared meal together, but Draxum already felt like a seat at the table that had always somehow been there

----------

“...I think I just made it impossible for your kids to go to sleep tonight.”

“Eh, they've had worse sugar rushes. Trust me, this is nothing. Besides, they'll burn it all up soon enough.”

The remaining slices of the ice cream cake had already been placed back into the fridge, and because it was still somewhat light out, the boys had been allowed to go play outside for a while. So, they raced out the door, leaving their father and his date to watch by the window while they started playing what Draxum could only describe as a mixed up version of soccer and cricket.

He wasn't even sure if they were keeping score. All he could tell was that the game involved running all around the small yard, using foam swords and hockey sticks to hit a ball as well as kicking it with their feet. Either way, they all seemed to enjoy it, with Raph happily teaming up with Mikey and offering him a piggyback ride whenever his youngest brother struggled to keep up.

Draxum hummed, taking a small sip from the tea Lou had made for him before setting the cup back down. “Your kids are definitely unique.”

“Heh, they sure are,” Lou agreed, “They really are good boys… And they really like you, you know.”

Draxum nodded. It was still sort of hard to believe himself, given how he often thought of children as nothing more than tiny annoyances. Yes, Lou’s kids were loud, and strange, and still a tiny bit annoying. But they were also clever and endearing, and even a little cute. So, he had no real problems with them liking him, or with liking them in return.

“...And,” Lou began, taking a step closer, suddenly making Draxum very aware of his presence, “I really like you too.”

“I-...” That was all Draxum could get out as he turned from the window, looking Lou directly in the eyes now. The handsome (‘ugh, why did he have to be so handsome,’ Draxum thought to himself, knowing this would all be so much easier if he wasn't) man stared back at him, lips curled into an honest smile. No cockiness or playing up his ego, Lou simply wanted him to know how he felt.

“And I mean it too. And uh, heh, no pressure or anything but… I hope the feeling’s mutual.” Draxum didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. Lou took another slow step forward. Close enough together to do so now, Draxum dared himself to take his hands.

“I think… That's a possibility,” Draxum told him quietly, finally finding the words to reply.

Lou smiled, letting out a soft chuckle that made Draxum’s heart leap a bit. “Good to know…” They were closer now, enough for Draxum to see himself in Lou’s glasses. He told himself that he wasn't the kind of man to kiss on the first date, but Lou was making it SO tempting!

Their faces were getting closer, with Draxum’s own feeling much too warm. He placed his hands on the shorter man’s chest… And gently pushed him away.

The ex-action star blinked, the intimate mood gone in an instant, suddenly leaving him feeling cold. Still, despite his disappointment, Lou backed away.

“...It’s getting late,” Draxum stated, “I should probably get going.” He didn't waste time moving past Lou, now standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Lou nodded. “Right, of course. Well, thanks again for coming over. I had a nice-”

“I’m-” Draxum suddenly began to say, still refusing to look back at him, “I’m… Available next weekend, as well. So, perhaps you could come over to my place and we could have dinner there.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Just the two of us. It, it's the least I could do, cooking for you in return.”

“...” Lou’s grin returned. So there WAS going to be a next time! “Yeah, that sounds great! Just text me a time and your address and I’ll be there!”

Draxum nodded. “I will.”

“Heh, I’ll be looking forward to our next appointment, Dr. Draxum.”

Even with the light blush still in his cheeks, Draxum turned back around halfway, scoffing at him. “You don't have to keep calling me that. I have a first name, I won't be offended if you use it.”

Despite his internet search on the man, Lou continued to be coy. “You never told me it, Dr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.”

His date rolled his eyes, sighing slightly. He was tall, definitely, but he wasn't anywhere near dark. His skin just barely had a tan! “It's Benjamin. Benjamin Draxum.”

“Ah. Well, Ben, I’ll see you next week.” Draxum nodded, hesitating for only a moment before moving once more. Lou followed him to the front door, and they each gave a quick good night before Draxum left.

“Heh, a second date,” Lou told himself, still grinning about it, “How about that?” With his steps light and earlier disappointment being unable to touch his now sky-high mood, Lou went into his backyard and began trying to wrangle up his kids and get them back inside for pajamas and teeth brushing.

[swanandapirate]

A Muted Hue of Grey (2/14) -- CSBB

Summary: Emma Swan liked being a PI in Boston. It was a fun job, she had an okay income and she was a good one at that, so there was no logical reason to try and leave. Except for the fact that she wanted to, so badly. And, when she received a job offer for what seemed to be the opportunity of a lifetime, she did exactly that. Leave. Run. All the way to London. The job was simple: trailing a man called Killian Jones. Easy enough.

Well, until things get complicated, that is.

Rating: M (later mentions of violence, alcohol abuse, and sex)

Wordcount: 4131

Links: ao3 // ff.net // chapter 1 

A/N: Here's chapter two to finally answer those questions of how Emma is going to handle this very inconvenient situation. Though I do have to say that if this cliffhanger was already difficult to handle (looking at you @sambethe 😉) then oooooh boy have I got some things in store for you.

Eternal gratitude to my two favorite internet people in the world: my betas @acourtoftruelove and @ofshipsandswans who turned this jumble of sometimes incoherent words into an actual fic. 

Also major thanks to @shady-swan-jones for her banner and all of the cool art that she is posting and will post!

----------------------------

Shit, shit, shit.

There went her cover.

Way to go. She definitely deserved the Private Investigator of the Year award. Stellar work.

Emma opened her mouth and filled her chest with air, only to release it again without an answer.

“Can I help you, lass?”

The question still hung in the air. What should she—could she—even answer?

Jones lowered his eyebrows, not content with the lack of response, of explanation.

The heat of his hand on her felt like it was two hundred degrees, his touch burning through her clothes and onto her skin. It was almost painful for how long it remained there, not moving, not leaving, just comfortably—for him at least—wrapped around her upper arm.

Emma shook her head, trying to shake the feeling of fumbling clumsiness. She smiled, flashing her teeth. “I’m sorry for bumping into you. I don’t know where my head is today.”

He tilted his head and Emma internally berated herself for not being more convincing. For not being more prepared. He was not buying it and that put her in big trouble.

His head remained cocked, his messy eyebrows moving into a frown.

“You’ve been walking behind me for a while, I feel.”

She needed to get out of here, to run as fast and as far as she could. But his hands were still on her, locking her into place, preventing her from dashing away. Running would also completely blow her cover; if he saw her following him again, his suspicion would not only grow but be confirmed and she’d be compromised. How on earth was she going to explain that to her boss?

It was out of the question, for both her own pride and reputation, and for the clause she’d signed as part of her contract. There was no room for failure, only for success, which left one option.

She had to lie. Had no other choice than to think of a plausible cover that would explain it all and maybe take Jones’ wary look away. But what would do the trick?

“I’m sorry?” she said, apologizing for the second time in the span of a minute. Emma grimaced as she realized that too. “It’s just that— I—” Anything, just think of anything. “I have this feeling like I know you and I know that doesn’t condone the stalking but I was trying to figure out why I’m having this feeling. You aren’t a movie star, are you? A famous rock star?”

She was about to continue her list of possible—very impossible—professions he could have but it seemed the two options she’d given him had done their job.

He looked at her dazed.

“I’m guessing that’s a no. I don’t know where I could know you from, if that’s the case. I mean, this is my first time in London and I doubt you spent a lot of time in Boston.”

Take the bait, take the bait.

“I did actually.” Every word came out more surprised than the last. Jones seemed surprised himself. If only he knew.

She was acting and it felt like the fakest thing ever, it felt like she was being obvious, like the over-expressive, melodramatic actors in daytime soaps the moment they discovered their wife had had an affair with their twin brother and she was now pregnant with no idea who the real father was. Shocked .

“What?”

He interpreted the question wrong and completed his own statement.

“Spend a lot of time in Boston.”

“You did? Really?”

Of course, she knew this. She’d memorized his biography, up to every trivial fact like which Bostonian coffeehouse he frequented and what his order consisted of. She even knew where he lived. Close to where she used to. An odd thing their paths never crossed.

“Aye.” Killian slowly nodded. “I lived in Boston up until last year. I moved back a couple of months ago.”

“Huh.” She let her lips form a smile that read something in the lines of this person is currently pleasantly surprised. “Guess it’s not that far-fetched I actually know you from somewhere.”

“I suppose not,” he was forced to agree. “But you don’t seem familiar, if I’m being entirely honest,” he then said apologetically, his lips somewhere between a grimace and a smile.

“I don’t really try to stand out.”

She didn’t like to stand out because it made her job easier, a shadow in the night, a flash of movement during the day; it left her subject unsuspecting, unguarded and it was the easiest way to gain information and to get the job done. She didn’t like to stand out because that’s what led to problems back in the foster system. Standing out led to being singled out, being ostracized from the group. It led to bigger kids stealing her dinner, taking away the few dollar bills she managed to save. In short, it led to heartbreak and hurt. Laying low was a tactic, something ingrained into her being, perhaps that’s why she excelled at doing what she did. Maybe that was why she spent most of her life alone. Not lonely, per se, but alone .

And it was finally something that did not taste bitter in her mouth, that resembled the actual truth. This lying to his face, after the short amount of time she’d done it, was a whole different thing from spying on him from afar. She signed up for the latter, the former wasn’t how she liked to do things, how she liked to handle her work.

Jones’ eyes reflected the rays of light emitted by the sun, flecks of grey standing out in the sea of blue.

In an instant, a moment as fast as a fingersnap, she became aware of their unfortunate placement; it was as badly chosen as the place where the tween had picked out to take her selfie earlier. The irritation Emma had then experienced was now endured by other people, people trying to pass but they could not because of the blockage the two of them were creating. Jones seemed to come to the same realization as he apologetically smiled at some angry-looking people, his right hand delving into his hair to scratch the back of his scalp. Emma mentally added it to her list of information. Killian Jones had a tic, a tic which was quite adorable. She wouldn’t add that last bit to her folder, though.

They looked at each other and the clumsiness of the people swerving left and right, the slight embarrassment due to the angry glares caused them both to hesitantly snicker, a connection forming through the shared amusement.

With resolution and completely in sync, they stepped out of the way, much to the content of the passersby. As soon as they did, the cacophony of the city fell away; only a subdued buzz remained as they fled away towards a small alcove of sorts. It wasn’t more than a glorified dirty corner hidden from view, graffiti sprayed on the otherwise grimy walls, puddles of suspicious substances covering the floor. Not that she was paying attention to those, Killian wasn’t either.

They were only watching each other in almost silence.

It brought a kind of intimacy, let the calm slowly descend onto the two of them. Two new lovers might search it, two experienced ones might treasure it, but Emma and Killian were neither. Far from it even.

They barely knew each other.

He barely knew her, they hadn’t even talked for more than a minute.

So the intimacy was odd. Unsought.

“This is going to sound a bit forward of me,” Killian finally broke the silence, “but would you like to continue this conversation in a place that’s slightly more suitable and reeks slightly less of piss?”

There was no other acceptable answer but yes. Declining would mean she’d rather stay in a shady alley than go somewhere with him. Even though she didn’t really owe him anything and she had every right to say no, it was quite an offensive thing to say. And nothing in his conduct or words had warranted such an insult.

“Yes. To the ‘no piss’ thing,” she specified after a beat.

It may have sounded as a joke, a jest to add amusement but in reality, to Emma there was nothing humorous about it. It was Emma trying to backtrack, recede to a place where it was safe and where she could blend into the shadows again.

Killian perceived it as a joke. He rumbled a laugh before looking over his shoulder, scanning the street for any oncoming groups of tourists or traffic, and, after the briefest brush of his fingers against the edge of her hand, he led the way.

It was accidental, nothing more.

It was just to signal that he was leaving, nothing more.

All things she told herself but failed to convince her, did not manage to omit the tingle in her flesh his touch had generated.

There was no use to think about the reasons behind his actions. She didn’t need to think about it, all she needed to do was follow him, continue and maintain a shallow conversation, end it with a friendly smile and an insincere “I hope we see each other again”, and disappear; never to be seen again, never to encounter each other again. It would require a moment to collect her thoughts and strategize, come up with a new tactic to bring this assignment to a fruitful end but those were worries for later.

The thing she needed to worry about now was how to converse with someone she already knew everything about, someone who wasn’t allowed to know anything about her. It didn’t exactly leave a lot of room for a topic of conversation.

Lost in her own thoughts searching for a subject other than how hot the weather was today, she was too busy to pay attention to her surroundings or Jones. Emma’s absent-mindedness resulted in her not seeing he had stopped moving in front of her and almost running into him again. Jeez, a second time would not only be embarrassing but also a testimony of pure clumsiness.

And she didn’t require any additional unnecessary touches and even more tension, she’d had quite enough of that for one day.

He didn’t speak or explain the sudden emergency brake situation that had just taken place, but twisted to face her. He stared at her. Only stared, his gaze scanning her face. It felt like a judgment, as if he was trying to figure out something but Emma hadn’t the slightest idea what that might be.

“What?” she eventually settled for plain out asking, her curiosity and impatience getting the better of her.

It jostled Jones back to reality, his eyelids moving to blink away the hitch.

“Killian,” he said. “That’s my name.” His head softly shook. “I realized I hadn’t introduced myself yet.”

“Oh!” Yeah, she hadn’t thought about asking his name because she already knew. “Nice to meet you.” Lifting her hand, she extended it towards him but as she did, the urge to retract came instantaneously. What if the feeling she’d tried to shake off earlier returned? This time, she couldn’t hold static energy accountable or pretend it was just an itch. It was too late, however, as Killian’s hand enveloped hers, a flood of warmth following.

She could attribute that to body heat, she supposed.

“I’m Emma.”

She stopped there to retain a kind of simplicity, of mystery. It was better for him not to know a lot about her, but Killian thought differently as he raised his eyebrow and nodded at her to continue.                                                                 

“Emma Swan,” she completed begrudgingly.

The name—her name—brought a smile upon his face and Emma wanted to ask why, wanted to smile along before she remembered. No attachments.

“Swan?” he questioned. “Really?

An affirmative nod.

“What’s yours?” she asked, perfectly aware of how she shouldn’t already know it. But it was the normal thing to do when two strangers met for the first time.

“Jones,” he replied. “Couldn’t be more generic than that. Although, I could be named Killian Smith, but that wouldn’t ring quite as good, I think.” He waggled his eyebrows.

“Killian Jones is a good name.”

“So is Emma Swan.”

“Thank you.”

They began walking again, a slow pace and now next to each other instead of Emma letting him leading the way.

“I once knew a chap called BJ Dickerson, that wasn’t a good name.”

“No way,” she said in disbelief and when Killian nodded, she frowned. “Whatever his initials stood for, it could not have been worse than BJ Dickerson.”

“I beg to differ,” he said, trying to suppress his smile. “His parents called him Bachelor-Januarius. He wasn’t even born in January. I don’t think his parents were too fond of him, poor lad.”

Emma couldn’t help herself as she burst into laughter, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Killian stopped attempting to not laugh, his chuckle joining her giggle, the two sounds blending perfectly. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, she wiped them away with the pad of her thumb as she tried to compose herself and catch her breath.

Once she did and once they focused on walking again instead of laughing, she came to the pathetic conclusion that this was the first time she’d laughed—really genuinely laughed without any inhibitions—in quite some time. Long enough for her not to remember when or where or why. She should’ve expected that to happen seeing that she left all her friends back in the States.

Coming to a halt before a Pret A Manger establishment, Killian gestured with his head to propose entering to which Emma agreed. It was the afternoon, the peak hours of coffee-craving businessmen and women already gone so they were able to sit in a relatively calm environment. A young man greeted them and they both smiled in return.

The table they chose to sit at carried remnants of its previous occupants, some drops and crumbs scattered across its surface. Before sitting down, Killian reached for the napkin dispenser, grabbing two and swiping them across the table, getting rid of the traces and clearing it for them. His prosthetic motioned towards the chair opposite of him, inviting her to take a seat. Before he did too, he searched for a trashcan and disposed of the napkins.

It gave her some time to prepare, to take a calming breath and wipe her sweaty palms across her jeans as she went over the battle strategy again. It was one she was familiar with but it had been some time since she had utilized it, since she needed to. This resembled one of her bailbonds dates. The ones where she had to drag her words through a process of hemming and hawing, giving an altered, watered-down version of the truth while keeping it believable. The purpose now, however, wasn’t to expose the target but to prevent herself from being outed by them.

“Would you like something?” Killian asked with a friendly smile when he returned.

“Umm,” she thought for a second before answering, “A hot chocolate would be fine.”

“Great, I’ll be right back,” he told her.

Another big difference with her past as a bail bondsperson; back then she acted as seductive as possible, bending her body the right way to sit and show off some cleavage, watching her date the right way by batting her eyelashes, pretending to get tipsy after two glasses of red wine (her alcohol tolerance was better than that). But nothing like that now, a hot chocolate was as far from being seductive as it could be.

When the steaming cups—hers the aforementioned hot chocolate, and his a plain cup of coffee—were placed on their table, Emma wondered for a moment why exactly she chose a warm beverage when it was sweltering hot outside. But she had never been the healthy juice cleanse kind of girl and, once she took a hesitant sip and the chocolaty taste coated her tongue, she forgot all about the outside temperatures and could only think of her tastebuds reveling in the taste. It was okay at best but she couldn’t remember the last time she had taken the time to enjoy some.

God, why was she getting emotional about a cup of mediocre hot chocolate.

Killian drank from his cup as well, flinching. It would appear his cup was mediocre at best too. He grabbed the container of sugar that stood on the table and poured some into the black liquid.

“So what did you do back in Boston, if you don’t mind me asking?” Emma asked, the comfortable silence not sitting well with her. It was too comfortable when it should be anything but.

He looked up from his cup of coffee, his expression open and kind, before he answered, “I did technical writing for an engineering firm.”

“Sounds interesting.”

He took a sip, the sugar clearly helping, before he shook his head with a tiny smile.

“It wasn’t,” Killian said, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. “I quit. I got sick of it all and I needed something new.”

An idea formed in Emma’s thoughts, a lightbulb in the center of her mind that gradually became brighter and brighter until it glowed ever so powerful and made everything so clear. How to respond, what to say, how to proceed.

“What company did you work for?”

She just met the man, some curiosity was allowed, was even expected. Conveniently, that granted her the opportunity to steer the conversation to where she wanted it to go, to subtly guide Killian to a place where her act was believable and unsuspicious. Innocent.

Emma let her head rest on her hand, her chin propped up on her palm and her fingers spreading across the apple of her cheek.

“It was called Spencer Mechanics,” Killian answered.

“Really?” Her eyebrows rose. “I think I just figured out why you seem so familiar.”

Well, she just came up with a story to explain why he seemed so familiar, but semantics. More or less.

“You have? Do share,” he encouraged, slightly leaning closer in intrigue.

“A friend of mine once had a shitty temp job there and I came to her rescue with lunch sometimes. I probably saw you in passing a couple of times. I have a weird memory like that. Don’t ask me what I ate for lunch two days ago, but faces often stick.”

She could see him considering it—her story—for a moment, most likely wondering if it wasn’t too much of a coincidence, but dismissed the matter after having thought about it for a moment of silence.

“I apologize for not remembering yours,” he spoke again. “It’s a face worth remembering.”

Emma suddenly wished she hadn’t ordered a hot beverage but a cool one instead so she could cool her body down, rub the cold condensation against her heated, red cheeks. Why is she getting so flustered over small things and comments? Jesus. She had been flirted with before, so why was Jones different?

The answer wasn’t difficult to find, all she had to do was look up and there it was, visible in the way his eyes exuded sincerity and authenticity and the small smile that followed, as if the comments weren’t made to get something but simply to tell her, to make her aware of how things were from his point of view. A genuine compliment without any ulterior motives. She had to admit that had been rare in her previous experiences.

She didn’t want to be flustered, but she definitely was right this minute and Killian saw it too, a little cocky smirk appearing on his lips and then immediately disappearing again as he widened the distance between them again by leaning against the back of his chair.

“Do you like living in London?”

“I’d say so. Moving here was pretty hectic, however, I’ve been here barely three weeks and there are so many things to take care of.”

Rent, for one; money, her dollars wouldn’t get her far here; transport, she felt the loss of her beloved bug.

“It’s a big transition, isn’t it?” He nodded sympathetically. “I’m from here and it was still quite an adjustment for me.”

“Did you live in the States for long?” she asked before drinking the last of her beverage and placing the cup back on the table.

Seven years.

“About seven years,” he confirmed her information.

“That is a long time.” Her eyebrows shot upwards in something fluctuating between agreement and appreciation.

Killian shrugged before shifting the focus back onto Emma. “How long are you in London for?”

“A couple of months. It all depends on how much my boss likes the work I do.” That was true, Jones just didn’t need to know what exactly it was she did.

“What do you do?”

She should’ve seen that one coming, fuck.

“Oh, I don’t want to bore you with it.”

She waved it away, a fearful smile appearing on her face. It wasn’t more than a slight arch to hide the way she was clenching her jaw.

“You wouldn’t,” he assured her, lowering his head to meet her eyes, a sign he was a good listener, a kind one at that. For once, she wished her date—he wasn’t that but for lack of a better term he was—would only think about himself, talk about himself without asking about her, self-centered and selfish. Killian wasn’t, however. “I’m interested.”

Which was what she needed least, interest. In her and what she did.

“I’m um… what you would call a bail bonds person.”

Killian blinked and shook his head simultaneously, both obvious signs of how he was taken aback by her profession—even though it was her previous one and not her current, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Really?” he asked, yet again confirming his surprise.

Emma couldn’t help that her answer sounded just that little bit prickly. “You sound surprised.”

Her prickliness was justified, though. Because it was getting tedious and monotonous, the misogynistic air that hung around the oh’s and really’s and the you must be joking’s.

Because everyone sounded surprised. Men especially. They thought women weren’t powerful enough, were too emotional to succeed. It was why she was a bailbonds personand not man. She was a woman. And a damn powerful one.

“Only because I’ve never met a bail bonds person before. How on earth could that ever bore me?”

“It all sounds really exciting but in the end it’s more paperwork and boring stake outs than anything else.”

She toyed with the empty cardboard cup of her hot chocolate, her fingernail denting the ridge before letting her hand compress it, until the cup was completely flat.

His eyes fell on the camera now safely stored in its bag and hung across the chair Emma sat on.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt you during one.” His features turned worrisome.

“You didn’t,” she reassured.

Lie.

“I was simply exploring a bit.”

Lie.

“I haven’t had the time yet.”

Truth.

“You’d never come to London before moving here?”

“No,” she admitted, shaking her head. “Sometimes it feels like I have absolutely no idea where I’m going. I’m just following the masses.”

Emma assumed that they knew where they were going—at least vaguely. She just let the stream carry her, calmly floating along and she’d see where she would end up. Killian, however, clearly disagreed.

“You shouldn’t! London is better than the masses make it out to be.”

“If you feel inclined to be my personal tour guide, feel free to,” Emma joked.

“Well, there’s an idea.” Killian smirked.

“I was joking,” she explained, the panic rising inside. She was already regretting her words. Why did she have to say that and give him ideas? “I don’t want to claim any more of your time.”

“It’s fine,” he reassured and Emma wished he didn’t. “I was going to go to the library but I wouldn’t mind taking a stroll about the town.”

A creature of extreme habit and he was altering his routine. Changing something almost set in stone. For her.

She didn’t want to think about what that meant.

They stood up, their chairs scraping against the floor. Killian took Emma’s crushed cup and his own, still in its original state, and threw them into the trash. She smiled to thank him while attempting to get that lightbulb in her head to work again, for it to provide another story she could use to her advantage and get out of this situation. But it stayed completely dark and so she followed him outside.

“Welcome to the real London, Emma Swan.”

In the masses of the crowd, they disappeared together.

----------------------------

Fun fact: I actually know someone who is called Januarius and he wasn’t born in January either. I hope you liked it! See you next Thursday!

[all-cursed]

BOBO DEL REY : BIOGRAPHY

[    i.    STATS   ]

NAME.  bobo del rey , also known as robert svane . 

AGE. somewhere around 171; number provided via mathematics i did between a combination of the actors’ ages and doc’s mentions of his age/how long he was stuck in the well . the math may or may not be correct and i honestly don’t care enough to try and do it again .

DOB.  september 23, exact year unknown .

GENDER. cis male  :  prefers he/him or they/them pronouns .

PREF. pansexual

SPECIES.  human turned revenant .

RESIDENCE.  the  ghost  river  triangle  .

OCCUPATION. outside his stint as the owner of Shorty’s, his financial endeavours tend to be a little more under the table .

ETHNICITY.  swedish, danish, norwegian... most of his blood comes from that general area .

[    ii.     INTROSPECTION    ]

POSITIVE TRAITS.   resolute ,  patient (how else would someone spend over fifteen years trying to find some lady’s dead children bones) ,  passionate ,   dedicated ,  perceptive ,   eloquent .

NEUTRAL TRAITS.  quick-witted ,  clever ,  irreverent , amoral .

NEGATIVE TRAITS.  hedonistic , short tempered , unforgiving , apathetic toward most things , self-interested (not quite the word i was looking for but when he sets his mind to a goal/decides that someone is in his inner circle, he’ll do anything to achieve/protect said things even to the detriment of others and this word is the closest i could find) .

DISLIKES. being rushed  &  law enforcement & comic books & ignorance/ignorant people & being under someone else’s authority  & having to repeat himself & hell flashbacks &  poker games &  cheap alcohol; he’ll drink it but he has a heavy preference toward the pricier stuff & interruptions of any sort & having to switch things up mid-plan & having to rely on others for anything & most sweets & neon colours &  thinking about his past & being cornered .

LIKES. expensive liquors &  lounging in the sun &  birds & organic materials for clothing; so furs, leathers, metals, etc. & accessorising (the amount of rings and bracelets alone that he has squirreled away is insane) &  neutral and earth tone colours & having all eyes on him/being able to give off a commanding presence &  at the same time he also values his privacy &  physical activities and how he feels after doing them & getting in the last word &  dawn or dusk walks & burning incense & avant garde jazz & 'experimental’ fashion (look at this man’s outfits in this show and tell me i’m wrong) & cigarettes and bourbon & flirting & the ocean .

HOBBIES. chess & puzzle boxes/rings &  origami & wood whittling & walks on the outskirts of town & he journals but it’s less for fun and more to keep track of everything he has going on & learning things .

WEAKNESSES. he has a hard time garnering any sort of sympathy for anyone/anything outside of his inner circles/soft spots & willa earp is one of his weaknesses because of how important she is to him and i will die on this hill & his short temper & his amorality means that his loyalties can and often do shift which leaves him with few he can steadily count on .

STRENGTHS. has a way about him that makes networking and forming connections extremely easy for him &  can be very persuasive when need be & once he sets his mind on a plan/task it takes a lot to get him to give up on it & has the ability to play the long game; isn’t impatient for results right away .

HABITS. he’s very expressive with his hands; like, very expressive &  will stroke his beard when he’s deep in thought (or pretending to be) & that thing he does where he kind of clacks his teeth together like he’s biting the air?? look he does it multiple times and i still don’t know how to describe it & has a habit of staring at people  &  leans back or lounges in chairs whenever possible & when nervous/thoughtful he’ll chew at the edges of his fingernails and/or spin the rings on his fingers .

EDUCATION. before he became a revenant, he was fairly well educated; about as well educated as anyone could be back then. he finished school and while he didn’t go to college, he did a lot of book reading before everything with wyatt began to get out of control. the fascination with/desire to learn about the world followed him even when he became a revenant - though often, his research now is done with an intention to learn information that might serve him well in the future.

[  iii.     APPEARANCE     ]

FACECLAIM.  the beautiful michael eklund .

HEIGHT.  6 ‘ 0 ” .

EYES. a keen, watchful cobalt blue at most times - though when in use of his powers, or simply when he chooses to let them appear, his eyes will glow a fiery golden orange ringed with black . dark circles beneath them , long eyelashes, and generally a look that seems like it can pierce your soul .

EYEBROWS.   fairly average , again , there isn’t much to say about eyebrows . though small parts of his are white to match the partially white patch in his beard .

HAIR.  generally kept short in various mohawk styles ;  can be slightly wavy at times depending on the humidity in the air .  he keeps it short in such a manner that makes it easy to keep it styled , either smoothed back or shaped into a simple mohawk . there have been phases in his life where his hair grew out messy and long - dark brown streaked with white . if i recall, for a while after his return from Hell it was entirely white - whether from his own doing or from some effect of Hell I’m not sure yet.

SCARS.  a few long scars run down his back parallel to the curvature of his spine; they glow when in the presence of peacemaker or when he’s allowing his more demonic features to show . he has a variety of other scars; one faint one that slashes through one eye that is barely noticeable now; several across his abdomen and chest , some from bullets and some from sharper edges than those . he also sports scars from a knife that went through his hand and in certain verses , he has scars from the really nasty impaling he dealt with when fighting with jeremy and doc . 

DRESSING STYLE.  experimental . he tends to lean toward materials like leather or furs or metals (in the case of his jewelry anyway) . it’s not all he wears but it’s definitely the case with his favourite clothing items (the fur coat, leather pants, etc.) . tends to lean toward neutral or earthy tones and isn’t much for flashy , bright colours . wears lots of accessories as well , primarily rings and bracelets but also pendants on occasion .

LIPS.  i really don’t know how to describe lips, i’m sorry , lol . 

SKIN.  lightly tanned from time spent out in the sun ; he has an average but leanly muscled build , not overly hairy but not quite smooth either . pays careful attention to his facial hair and makes sure to take decent care of it . most of his body is covered in scars , some more noticeable than others , some verse dependent , but every version of him has quite a few regardless . 

CHEEKS. average cheekbones , doesn’t blush easily or often . 

[    iv.     ABILITIES    ]

LANGUAGES SPOKEN. english  [ fluent ] ,  latin  [ a bit here and there ] , swedish [ a few phrases ] .

THREAT LEVEL.  moderate to high .

WEAPONS.  he can and does use anything around him as a weapon when needed . he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty - or play unfair .  that said , he is fond of simply using his own two hands to inflict the damage he needs to inflict . that or his magic powers . 

MAGIC. he has control over anything metal ; that means he can send anything metal coming at him - bullets , knifes, etc. - back at the other person or wherever he so wishes , amongst other things. generally speaking, if you’re on bobo’s bad side , you do not want to enter his presence with anything metallic on your person .

[   v.   DETAILS   ]

➣➣ little is known about bobo’s younger years as robert svane - his family, etc. - and he sure as fuck isn’t going to tell anyone unless you’re very close . what is known is that he was a fairly quiet student and person in general, and got through school with little to no problems. chances were he had a fairly average childhood .  

➣➣ later on down the line, robert svane - as bobo was previously known - met wyatt earp and the two of them became fairly close friends. while he didn’t spend as much time actively in the field as wyatt or doc holliday did, he and wyatt stayed in close touch and spent time together in town often.  when wyatt left the area on one mission or another, the two would correspond via letters from wherever robert happened to be at the time. 

➣➣ then things began to go downhill. the nonstop snowballing of bad luck culminated in a battle between wyatt earp and the demon sheriff clootie - who took robert to use as a human shield. dedicated to the same cause and beliefs that wyatt held, robert told him to take the shot regardless, even though it would mean the bullet would go through him first. wyatt did. robert ended up in the local church nearby alone after that - perhaps on a search for help for his injuries - and bleeding out. 

➣➣ before dying, the demon clootie had cast a curse on the earp family - and on those killed by the earps, which meant that when he died, robert would be damned to hell along with the rest of the victims of peacemaker. one of the demon’s brides, constance, who told him such news, said that doc holliday - who was currently trapped in a well - had the third seal of bulshar’s entombment and that if robert went to the well, he could trick doc into giving him the ring. in the end, doc refused to give up the ring that gave him his own immortality and instead of rescuing him, robert, bitter of wyatt’s loyalty to doc first and foremost, left him in the well. as such, he eventually died (in wynonna’s arms.... yeah there’s a whole other flashback thing i’m not going into here), and was sent to hell.

➣➣ as foretold, he came back as a revenant. the years in hell had worn him down and down until very little of his former virtues remained above surface, all dormant and buried. somewhere along the line, ward earp became the heir. when waverly earp was born - to another father, but with the same mother - bobo came across them and, thinking waverly was the angel who had been with him when he died, kept his word to protect her, following her mother’s wishes and taking her to ward. he ordered ward to take care of waverly, and that if he ever harmed her, he would answer to bobo. 

➣➣ bobo kept watch on the earp family for some time afterward, eventually becoming waverly’s ‘imaginary friend’. around this time he decided to strike a deal with ward: bobo would make sure that the earp family remained safe but only if ward crossed the Ghost River Triangle border with him, effectively freeing bobo from the confinements of purgatory. ward agreed, but was accidentally shot during a raid on the homestead by the other revenants. the next heir was set to be willa, who was dragged away by revenants - revenants that bobo stopped in order to protect willa, who he hid away in a treehouse where the others wouldn’t find her. he watched over her as she grew, along with - unfortunately - constance clootie, whom he still needed to work with.

➣➣ unfortunately, clootie eventually erased all of willa’s memories and hid her away from bobo, in essence forcing him to work for her in order to ever see willa again, and, consequently, to be able to escape the Ghost River Triangle. it’s around this timeframe that the events of 1x01 begin to happen.

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