brad's traveled countless worlds, seen the edge of time, and bumped shoulders with gods and monsters alike. he did it all —— he did it too fast and too young. instead of savoring every moment, he hurried along to the next without ever stopping to wonder if these times would last forever. unfortunately, they did not. he knows how this story ends whether he likes it or not, making everything seem pointless. what's left for someone who can no longer experience newfound pleasures and experiences? boredom. a deep boredom.
he gallivants around as the machiavellian adventurer, putting his wants over the needs of others because that's what he's always done. if he stops moving and breaks for an instant, will those thoughts come back? will he be able to fend off that everything's tinged in grey and pointless? so, he never stops. going from one role to the next keeps him distracted from confronting the end.
the roles he picks are impromptu. whichever is the most interesting at the time. it could be the villain, the mentor, the naysayer, the optimist, anything and everything that lets him escape. if everyone's the protagonist of their story, then brad inserts himself in roles aligned with how it plays out. a chance to see something different — he hopes. it's these roles, however, that keep him from connecting with others. a clever guise painted across that ache inside. if someone threatens to peel them back, he runs. he's always running.
beneath the charm and spells is a lonely man. someone unable to grasp the pleasure of life again because he's seen too many things. he doesn't go out of his way to change things. he doesn't flex against the mold; he exists and continues on. he knows it's pointless. if he changes, it's small things to him. his morality, in some ways, is muddled. as a being deeply touched by magic, his emotions are fickle and wild. it's fluid and dangerous. one moment, things could be fine, and the next, chaos for the sake of chaos. for the sake of excitement.
he struggles to feel things but allows himself to live through others. to let them experience some, never all, of the wonders he's seen. it's a comfort to remember what joy looks like, what sadness and rage appear in another's face when genuine. to see himself, a fractured piece of infinity, sitting in another's gaze. he never has qualms about rushing into danger; he wants to draw out more of those feelings that he has lost. it's cruel to play with others' feelings; he knows and does it anyway. it's the only thing he feels he rests in the palm of his hand.
a bit hesitant to swear it, words linger on the tongue, an unnatural weight—— before she relents. features brighten, unable to hold back wide smile, it goes from lips to gaze. verdant irises shimmer like windswept leaves, a storm rustling trees sending critters scurrying, frolicking, and playing. fist pumps, unable to contain it any longer, a light hop carrying him a few inches from solid ground. still, voice stays hushed, ❛ woooo. ❜ listening intently, browsing features for hints of deceit ( although never finding any. ) / although far from the lie detector others were. ❛ for real? you ain't messing with you me, right? we're not gonna race over there, and you make me into your fall guy, yeah ?? ❜ equal parts joking, equal parts serious. some things were too good to be true, wally often has trouble deciding which were which. ❛ if you're serious ... yeah, man, dude—— sock, hook me up. i'll even owe you one. ❜
" You gotta swear on it ! " A good thing can die quickly due to word of mouth. Not to mention kindness only going so far in this modern day. She sticks her pointer finger in his face for emphasis. Sakura puffed out her cheeks, frowning up at the other. " Alright- there's a lady who I have an in with at WcDonald's." she leans closer, holding a hand up shielding her mouth," As long I buy a meal she'll let me pick any toy I want. Maybe. Just Maybe ! " she furrows her gaze to the other. " I can pull some strings if you're interested " chocolate browns look up to reach his own.
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄?
deep staining red. ripped out confessions, warm velvety whispers and a heart like an open wound. your love flows out like dripping blood, beautiful, flawed and twisted. it's gut wrenching, the type of painfully dramatic feeling that makes you clutch your chest, picturing dramatic monologues about love and loving and big screen over the top scenes of sobbing into your pillow until you fall asleep. it rips out of you, clawing it's way up your throat more so than tumbling out. sticky words that just need to be let out, feelings so big they don't fit inside you. your love isn't easy, it's a true bloody mess, dripping and staining everything it touches in a desperate attempt to be seen, to be felt, to be loved back. and you, you love so hard, so deeply, so much for someone who carries all that pain. atlas holding up the world, how are you? is your love still flowing? is your heart still open? still pumping and bleeding and dripping with blood and tears? still painting your beautiful pictures and writing your love letters in deeply personal red ink? because i see them, i read them, i love them and you, you, you, you. clench your chest, scream your love, cry it out. spill your words of loving, keep your heart beating, keep your love coming and paint the entire world red with it. make it in your image, keep going, it's okay. maybe one day the whole world can be red and loved and beautiful just like you.
tagged by: @hadobreeze ty ty tagging: steal it.
if you write with my canons I’m sorry you’re doomed by my fickle muse because sometimes they speak to me and sometimes; they do not LMAO
random lil hcs for wally.
wally is a good cook, really good. between a healthy appetite and a strong need for calories ( super speed go brr ) he's gotten good at cooking for himself. on the opposite side, at a point i doubt he's even picky with food. you'll eat his food and it taste five class and he's just like?? what. it's roughly all the same to him.
slaps on a red nose every year at Christmas time. wallace rudolph west lives forever.
prone to hyper speed talking. he's a bit more restrained than his peers but get him going and you'll never hear a single word just a long ass buzz and him looking for understanding. wally: you got that?
four other major cities make up thane’s kingdom which was acquired through his efforts in expanding their borders. he appointed his sisters as the one to oversee these acquisitions and essentially gave them free reign as they wished within reason. their basic rules are the same but what they’d developed their lands into was entirely up to them as long as they shared their earnings with the others. each city was a wheel to keep things going but they’d all still be able to exist if one happened to fall into obscurity. despite finding himself in inodal, which was the capital of it all, he’d venture to these other places to grace them with his presence and allow them to partake in celebrations they’d heard about which happened in the inodal itself. inodal was, for lack of better word, viewed as a type of paradise where everyone prospered. smaller towns fill the gaps between the cities but do fall under the rule of them.
ezeocia was the closest to inodal, it made its trade in crops of a greater variety along with dealing in spices to share with the kingdom itself. placed against the sea as well, they’d also have a hand in fish trade and pearl hunting but with far more dedication than inodal. it’d appear closer to a fishing town with a grand pier and many other boats lined along its coastline which would move to deliver goods where it’d be able.
iramuca found its niche in ores and precious stones which crafted it into a mining city that’d supply a great deal of the material that’d be used for armor and weapons. workers had a powerful voice here since they were the ones working tirelessly to mine out the materials and craft them into something that’d be of use. digging for precious stones further flourished their wealth and a great deal of jewelry would spread from them all across the land. their craftsmanship becoming rather famous among the people that’d actually be able to afford it.
murozia fashioned itself into a place of knowledge, dipping into the arcane and housing a college that’d teach magic for many years after building upon what was already there. bolstering it into a place where many techniques and crafts would be discovered or perfected. it’d also find itself second to inodal as a place to worship the gods and pay them tribute. they’d deal in potions, herbs, medicines, and textiles which fetched a good price while being useful to many.
shezregary became a prison city, keeping those that’d been found guilty of grievous crimes and sentenced to live out their years in isolation. the prison is massive and the people that live there are the ones who are related to the guards working in it. the prison would contribute to the weapons and armors crafted as service to the kingdom by those that were incarcerated.
an important thing to remember was most of the land outside of inodal itself originally belonged to other people; it’d been conquered and claimed by their armies. the people that’d lived this before were either driven out or adopted into the kingdom. being overtaken definitely leads to some animosity, naturally, but thane’s curse would impact these areas enough to where it’d stay simmering instead of boiling over while they worked to defuse it. there’s also how things like monsters were viewed, those that carried themselves as humans would. it’d result in the same effect, numbed down to the point where it’d stay from spilling over but somewhat present in the community in the cities but less so in inodal itself. preaching for equality is a lot different than obtaining it but thane did have his eyes sight on that being the final conclusion.
art of thane done by my twin @noatherics ! finally giving it a proper home.
at a certain point i think all brad's relationships are doomed to fail because you're never probably gonna be as important as his next adventure. it's just... not likely. there's always some distance, always some lack of presence on his part, he's never gonna be able to give the attention some need. he's wild. a puff of smoke and gone.
inhaling what's left of the burger half, wally cleans what little bits of ketchup and mustard are still clinging to his fingers. it wouldn't be lying to say he felt a hundred——no a million times better already. it'll give him more than enough juice if he needs it, although he isn't expecting much. las vegas ... surely it's not a place with anything to worry about? it wasn't a mission——as others insists. enjoy yourself, they told him. at a point it started feeling like they were just trying to get rid of him, which, y'know, fair enough.
"tourist-y stuff——no, wait——stuff locals like——uh ... any chance we can do both?" it's the first time he's stepping foot into vegas; he's been through her more than few times but he meant that literally. it's a blur on his travels to other places and he barely remembers a thing each time. to put it simply: it's his first time ever spending more than thirty seconds in the city of sin. bit odd that it never popped up during his time with the team. you'd think it would've been the first place to stir up all sorts of trouble for them to be sent to deal with.
"oh, and by we, i mean me. i mean, i can't expect you to follow me around all day and help me out ... right? not that i'd turn down a certified guide." it's a bit of a leading question, he'll admit. not his finest attempt to thread the needle of a delicate topic, but he's doing his best. "but, y'know, if that is something you DID want to do i can cover today's expenses for us." all hail the batman appointed credit card. "whaddaya say? wanna be my partner in crime?"
Damn. He must have been really hungry.
Mark comes close to feeling bad about having made his acceptance into a bit, but it's hard to linger on those kinds of guilty feelings when the guy's sticking around for a chat after scarfing down his leftovers. He's probably not all that torn up over the specifics of getting them.
"Well," he starts, still sporting a bright grin, "you're in luck! No-one in the world's better at this whole tourist thing than I am."
Expertise just comes with the package of being on the move so often; Mark is a tourist everywhere, taking in everything he can everywhere he stops. A local might know a thing or two about some niche, out-of-the-way place for good food or a good time, but Mark's always been good about sniffing out things or places that are entertaining.
He rests his arm on the back of his chair, then leans his head into his waiting palm, attempting to give his food thief some sort of scrutiny—like he's trying to judge exactly what sort of avenue to take this. "So what, you lookin' for some typical tourist-y stuff? Or are you one 'a those people who wants to pretend they know how to blend in with the locals? Plenty 'a shit to do either way. You like shows? Lotsa shows. There's a rollercoaster in a casino. Isn't that the sickest fuckin' thing you've ever heard of in your life? Who does that? It's probably a death trap but that's a sick way to go out. My sister made me ride it."