Posts by sylvie!

-- zachary "zach" epps

-- god remembers

-- cisgender male / heterosexual

-- january 13th 1993 / 25

[ HUMAN ]

-- a man of angelic quality, zachary's most noticably feature is his mass of curly hair. like the sun rising on earthy soil, his locks range from golden to deep browns, each curl almost perfectly formed as if finger-twisted one by one. then one might be drawn to his eyes which take the hue of a rich hazel, occasionally shifting to muted shades of light green. his face is chiseled, jaw wide, nose broad, and lips plump.

his body is made from stone, very toned and muscular. strong-looking and solid. skin is a beautiful golden tan - flawless aside from the occasional mole. he is a real force of beauty to behold.

-- race african american

-- height 6'1"

-- weight 205lbs

-- faceclaim axel kwenkeu -- ref 1 | ref 2

-- above all, zachary is kind. much more kind than he'd look from his tall stature and even gaze. he believes in love, peace, and happiness above all else and is willing to go to great lengths to provide that for loved ones. he is naturally inquisitive. he has a desire to learn and explore. he is open-minded to most things and tries to give everything a fair chance and genuine consideration before putting it down.

his patience is one of his most noticeable traits which is surprising giving his upbringing which consisted of many very short-tempered individuals, especially men. zachary is willing to ask the difficult questions, think the difficult thoughts, and wants to discover more about himself and the world. he longs to grow as a person and is willing to do the dirty work to get there.

-- important traits; persistent, kind, patient, creative, quick-thinking, selfless

-- negative traits; naive, selfless to a fault, dull

-- knows minimal french

-- works as a personal trainer at a local gym

-- dog person

all he had was a few boxes of clothing, a mattress, and his bachelor's degree in exercise science. it was all he needed to get a job here in the city, far away from his family and friends, far away from his hometown and roots. he was alone here. of course, he had absolutely no plans of keeping it that way. the first thing on his to-do list was to go down to the nearest bar and make small talk with some nice looking people. nice as in friendly, of course.

between trips up and down the stairs, zachary made sure to lock his apartment, not wanting to come up to his apartment and see that the very few things he owned had been stolen. maybe it was a little paranoid, but this was the biggest city he'd ever been to, and he heard of the ill actions of man. he didn't really care to fall victim to something like that. wasn't in the mood to chase someone down over a pair of underwear.

box balanced precariously in one arm, the tall, muscular man began fiddling with the key he had yet to even put on his key ring. "why won't you go in?" he mumbled aloud as he turned the key one way then the other then rotated it to its original direction. he jiggled the doorknob uselessly in defeat. this key had been working all day. why would it quit now? "maybe the door is jammed." that seemed reasonable enough.

he leaned away from the door then slammed his shoulder against it with all the force and momentum he could have possible gathered from seven inches away. nothing. he tried again. then once more. then, he tried with a little more force, a bit of a running start and-

"this isn't my apartment," came a sheepish confession as he forcefully entered an apartment that indeed was not his. confused, the man would gawk at the few decorations that were scattered about, not even taking notice to whomever might be residing in the room he had just burst into.

the sound of a voice, careful, precise would draw his attention from the cloud of confusion, and he would see a boy... a man peeking from behind the couch. at his gesture, zachary would glance back to the door and it’s busted lock.

“ah, shit.” was the beginning of his apology as his gaze shifted from red embarrassment to complete remorse. ”i really didn’t mean it. i-i thought-“ he glanced around the room as confusion worked to cloud his eyes once more. where the hell was his apartment? he’d look to the man and made an effort to cross the room to better speak to him. if this were considered intrusive, he wouldn’t know. ”i’ll pay for it, of course, and if you need somewhere to stay while it’s being fixed, i’m nearby... i think.” is that weird? maybe that was a weird offer. ”or maybe i could afford a hotel,” he murmured under his breath, trying to do a bit of math in his head. sure, he could afford a hotel if he skipped buying groceries that week. yeah, he could swing it.

"i didn't think it would break. i... guess i didn't know what i was thinking." god he was stupid. he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. he noticed that the thin man before him responded rather nervously to his approach, so he decided to keep his feet planted. that made sense. he was some big dude that just broke down the fucking door and was now trying to cross the room, uninvited. shit.

"okay," he dropped his pale eyes of seafoam, hesitant and unsure like the morning tide reaching out to test the sand. they flickered back to the doorway, following the gaze of the stranger. "just - uh - let me know... if there's anything i can do. i do really feel awful about-" he took a moment to gesture towards the mess he made, "that."

despite the embarrassment and remorse that reddened his cheeks, he managed to keep his gaze even as he followed the younger man as he inched around, careful to keep distance between them. zachary respected his space and only followed him into the hallway once the other was completely out of the apartment. "uh... 209...?" it sounded like a shot in the dark because truthfully he kind of... forgot. he was really relying on muscle memory from walking back and forth from the truck, and well, look where that got him. "i'm zach. by the way." a friendly smile, weighed only a little by guilt.

at the realization that zach was just one door over, the soft, almost child-like rosiness to his cheeks spread to his entire face, coloring the boy's visage in cherry wine. how stupid. he could only stand in silent mortification as owen made a spectacle of his mistake, teasing and mocking him with apparent joviality. at least he was taking the situation in good humor -- still, much to zach's chagrin.

"thank you, owen," he replied with a surprising lack of ease that his voice typically carried. at his open door, he couldn't help but to grin despite himself. "expect that check in, uh, three to five business days." he would place the absolute last of his belongings just inside the door, turning once more to face owen as he accepted zach's offer. there was a hint of something there, something that zach wasn't really picking up or understanding, so he nodded and leaned against his door frame. "yeah, sure. anything."

a moment's worth of silence would signal the end of their interaction, but the threat of being alone in a big, new city was greater than his desire to hide under the covers of his unmade mattress for the next century or so. "uh, owen, i know i'm probably the last person you want to see more of, but... i just moved here, and i don't really know anyone, so," his gaze floated lazily around the hallway, not focusing on anything in particular but wanting to avoid owen's gaze, the assumed unintentional judgement, "maybe we could grab a couple of beers or something. on me, of course." he could use a shot or two right about now.

^{Character name: finchpaw}

^{Character appearance/description: finchpaw is a tiny seal point molly with sapphire blue eyes and a bite scar on her hind left leg ref artistic ref (by pin) baby ref by goldy}

^{Pose + expression: maybe smthn playful?? idk u know finch}

^{Transparent?: yes pls}

^{Headshot or fullbody?: fullbody ,, but i am not picky dhdjdj}

^{Border around character?: sure!}

^{Any song I should listen to while drawing? <3: pop¿}

^{Other notes: tysm mid ... u r amazing ,, dm me on discord n i’ll pay u KDJDLS}

zach's gaze would lift at owen's acceptance, resting to meet the angular face of the man in front of him. it wasn't until they were stood out in the hallway did zach notice how thin he was. lanky. maybe they'd hit the gym.

he took a step backwards, clearing the doorway and allowing owen to enter. his apartment was entirely empty aside from the small collection of boxes seated in the middle of the living room. he eyed them wearily. maybe he'd tackle that tomorrow. gentle gaze resting on owen again, he smiled at the agreement. was this his first friend? better be if they were going to be living together for a while.

"shouldn't be too hard," he figured with an easy smile and easier shrug. there were colleges here. there had to be at least half decent ones with student prices. "i'll tell the landlord about your door on the way out." maybe they would swing by a store and pick up an air mattress for owen to sleep on. his bed was big enough to share, but... that would be a little weird. men don't sleep together -- unless they're sleeping together. he didn't want to think about that.

and sure, zach wasn’t the most observant nor intuitive of people, but he eventually caught onto what was happening when owen slipped away at night, and it bothered him. just a little. he understood one night stands, occasionally hookups, but zach was starting to head home without owen more and more frequently, and he was concerned that this was turning into a bit off a habit. if that was the right word for it. when owen offered to go bar-hopping, zach was more than hesitant to accept the offer, but he would cave eventually with minimal convincing from owen.

he watched the younger man walk away to peruse the bar for a table, his only words of temporary parting simple instructions. so, as told, he headed straight for the bar. truthfully, zachary liked ordering for them. he typically got something simple, classic for himself, and then for owen, he would order the sweetest, tooth-rotting specialty drinks that looked like something children would order. the game wasn’t very fun though as owen never once batted an eye at anything that was put in front of him and was quick to chug it down. maybe the game now would be to get some sort of response from him. a quizzical look, a smile, anything.

zach greeted owen at the table, holding something that looked like bubbly water with a lime in one hand. in the other was a round margarita class with a neon blue and green frozen blended bervage. he placed the colorful drink in front of owen before sitting down cross from him, and began stirring the lime into his gin and tonic disinterestedly. ”some of my coworkers were going to get dinner sometime next week, and they said i could invite whoever ... so, uh, would you want to go?” it would be a boring dinner at some pretty restaurant, so he’d like the company of a friend. he knew it wasn’t really owen’s thing, being around people, but it was worth a shot.

to say that zach was taken aback by owen's enthusiasm would be a little bit of an understatement. once he recovered, he couldn't hide his happiness, almost overjoyed that owen had agreed to something that didn't involve a shady bar or shadier people. "r-really?" his eyes would flicker at the room around them, not sure if owen was bullshitting him. even after knowing him for months, there were still things he was unsure about. "i'll tell them. when we get home." a silent thank you rested on the tip of his tongue along with the bitterness of gin.

"it'll probably be a little dull, but i'm glad i'll have you with me." a rare tenderness coated his tone, and his gaze would shift back owen. it was clear that he was being sincere, but the heart-to-heart was a little uncomfortable, even for a softie like him.

^{hey, welcome back <3 seconding riverclan as probably the fastest in trad. i think shadow and sky are pretty quick paced too right now!}

^{:EYES: i will slowly come to interact with all of ur character s because i love them}

^{obv friends with finch, but i imagine she and dream could get along well if she's not too intimidated by him}

there was a bit of a heaviness that settled on him every time owen left. their nights always ended like this. one more drink; he'll be back. zach was kind of growing used to it. but tonight seemed to be different. every time that owen left, he had come back, so zach simply pulled out his phone to scroll mindlessly for a minute or so.

and then another minute... or so. and another.

after almost five minutes, the familiar feeling of resignation would settle in. their night was coming to an end. he couldn't be too upset -- it had lasted longer than he expected it to. he couldn't help the disappointment that owen hadn't even had the decency to make up some lame excuse for leaving. zach gathered his things and headed to the bar with the intentions of paying the tab and secret the hopes of seeing his friend. would owen really wordlessly ditch him? he didn't typically, but the younger man was always full of surprises.

to his relief and annoyance, his dull gaze landed on owen at once, leaning the bar with some pretty white boy. uh, "pretty" as a joke, of course. though, if he were being honest, the man next to owen was kind of perfect. maybe even a little too perfect. objectively. zach thought to go sit back down at the table, but the guy that was standing slightly too close to owen was rubbing him the wrong way. he... looked familiar. zach couldn't help but to be entranced by his eyes but for different reasons, enraptured by anxiety, captured by alarm bells. before zach could even think, he was moving, swiftly squeezing into the small space between the two men, nearly coming nose-to-nose with the blue-eyed beauty. uh, man. blue-eyed man. "is this... uh... spot taken?" he chirped brightly with false innocence. he could hear his heart beating in his ears, and he just wanted to take owen's hand and run for the door. or... maybe owen's arm. or wrist.

it took everything in him to stay relaxed as the two conversed over his shoulder. this guy was raising every alarm bell and red flag. his mind was screaming to do something, so he attempted to make eye contact with owen, a silent warning that the man would ignore to scamper off with his new partner. panic gripped zach, and his heart felt like it might explode. this was bad. this was really bad, wasn't it? after another moment of feeling, not thinking - god, not thinking - he hurried after the pair. as soon as they were out of the door of the bar, zach would reach out and grab owen's arm, pulling him close, moving to stand in front of him. any protests from the smaller, drunker man would go unacknowledged.

zach tried to hide the way he was shaking when the man turned to face him. "i-i don't want any trouble, okay? i'm just going to take him home. that's it."

the man was calm, even friendly-looking, as he came to loom over zach, but there was no doubt there was something in his gaze... something that sent chills down zach's spine. "you seem tense. is something wrong?" his voice was smooth, precise. velvety. the blond man offered what seemed to be smile soft with concern, but the facade was lost on zach. all he could see was the widening mouth of a snake about to strike. he attempted to slip by the man with owen and tow.

"why don't you let owen decide what he wants to do?" adam would let them pass, not allowing his dark eyes to stray from the two men. a soft smile would form on the maw of the wolf as zach would hesitate at his words. the eyes of bronze that would lift to meet his gaze were dangerous. he watched the way his jaw tensed. were his teeth finally coming in?

maybe they were, maybe they were for show. to bare when adam would reach out to owen. and zach would bark a sharp, "hey! don't touch him!" only to meet the sly smile of a fox or snake or eagle that silently asked what exactly zach planned to do about it. at least, that's what zach saw. taunting him like an orca playing with its prey before eating it, savoring in the musk of fear. but instead of fear, adam would only give life to a fire that had been simmering, waiting deep in zach's chest. when adam would push him once more, reach another slim, elegant hand towards his friend once more, zach would consume the flame that pulsated somewhere within him, and he swung a fist, ruining the pretty man's pretty complexion with a pretty bruise to the jaw.

^{oh goodness this is,,, so surprising!! wish u the best, and i've loved the time we had rping together. see u in the discord, my darling <3}