cowboykind

[cowboykind]

Julien Clarke - aka Lukas Barlowe (Trigger warning for religious abuse, child abuse) // not required reading but this is his old Google Docs if you're interested

In the cult he was born into, Julien had a role. He was the leader's son, he (unknowingly, but willingly) perpetuated the cycle of abuse, and people listened to him. At fifteen years old, all of this is stripped away when he is 'saved' from the 'horrible abuse' thanks to several concerned citizens and years of careful undercover detective work.

Suddenly, he is thrust into an unfamiliar and uncomfortable environment, placed in foster care and labeled a 'problem child' for repeatedly running away from his foster parents. He struggles to find an identity for himself or a place in the world, eventually changing his name from Julien to Lukas as a way of reinventing himself (Barlowe is the last name of his mother, who did not make it out of the cult alive.)

Additional information: -another OC that is closely tied to his story is Kris, who belongs to my friend @loveleftbehind. They are around the same age, and Kris suffered abuse at the hands of Julien and other members of the cult. Currently, they are not on good terms -Julien's foster mother is incredibly patient and kind, despite the fact that Julien is terrible to her (running away, completely dropping all contact, causing her to worry, plus he is not easy to get along with). She believes that anyone can change for the better, and he is no exception. He learns to appreciate and love her as he gets older, proving her point. -Julien is incredibly traumatized from things he's seen and associated with being 'normal'. Unsavory behavior was reacted to by instilling fear, and he took that and became a people-pleaser in a negative way. He is rude, dismissive, and cold by default at the beginning of his story, but can't hold down a job or maintain friendships, so he becomes lonely and desperate. The process of unlearning everything he knows is slow, but the other option is a life of solitude and petty crime. -The original name for this story was "When It Rains". The cult leader (his name is Ryan) believed that when the Rapture happened, arsenic rain would fall and kill everything, so he had his followers drink arsenic laced water to gain a tolerance for it (this was a thinly veiled excuse to poison the 'weaker' members). Julien drank and distributed a large deal of this water growing up, leading to mild cognitive decline and partial hearing loss. -Identity is very important to Julien. He was tasked with looking after the younger children to make sure they did as they were told, a job he did well and was applauded for. He was unafraid to dole out punishment if it meant getting attention from the person he looked up to the most. He was cruel and the behavior was reinforced many times, and he loved it. And then it all went away, and he was no one. He will get frustrated if he isn't good at something right away, desperate to find that label again, but not committed enough to actually hone a skill. The problem is, if he finds something he's good at, and actively told he's good at, he will latch onto it, even if its morally questionable or downright horrible. His foster mother worries that she isn't doing enough to keep him from ending up in the cycle again or dead, but he doesn't listen to her.

[cowboykind]

updating this blog just a bit (adding some other original characters! since saul is pretty underdeveloped although it's been helping to write with other people :-) I will keep you updated.)

[cowboykind]

Well lookee here, seems he's got a crowd! The lasso lands perfectly around a bottle of whiskey. Giving it a good yank, it flies across the room and he catches it in his hands and he offers it to the stranger.

Lasso makes the shape of a heart in the air before he throws it

"Get em, Lassie!"

[cowboykind]

A little backstory for Saul:

He was the youngest of six children.

He had five older sisters, but sickness claimed the lives of two of them when they were infants. He's kept flowers in his hat for them since he was a kid.

He was especially close to his sister Elizabeth (he called her Liza'beth) who was the closest to him in age. They'd go play barefoot in the creak next to their house after helping around the farm and come home soaking wet.

His sisters grew up and got married off, and he actually has a pretty big family back home; lots of nieces and nephews to love when he pays them visits.

Saul actually really loves kids. They like to wear his cowboy hat, and he's always happy to lend it to them, and they always have so many questions

He was just a farm boy, and this other boy came and told him they'd run off together sometime. And they did, some warm summer night, Saul got on the back of this boy's horse and didn't come back

[cowboykind]

"Jus' means the sun's di-rectly overhead, ma'am," he replies politely, pointing upwards. If he had to guess, it was probably mid-afternoon about now, which means this hot-chocolate is going to be returned in favor for some soup or a hearty little meal.

Course, they don't sell soup here. Just fancy little pastries. He has his hands on his hips, wondering where they might be able to start a fire to get a pot boiling.

Sophia here is kinder than most folks he comes across. They seem to fear him, though he means no harm. Even showed them his gun and they took their little ones and hurried away.

"Say, before I go back home, you know where a fella might be able to get some supper 'round here?" Someone walks by with a sandwich as big as his head, and he doesn't even hide the fact that he's staring.

Ah, loneliness...it's something that Sophia knew all too well. A long sigh escaped the blonde's lips, looking up from her table as she held the warm cup of cocoa in her hands.

For once, she decided to go out and treat herself, even if she was alone. It felt a little shameful, sure, but...she forgot how nice it was to get a little something at a cafe. It still didn't completely get rid of that nagging feeling of lonesomeless however, her eyebrows forrowing the more she thought about it. Was she ever gonna make any new friends here?...

[cowboykind]

Saul collects little trinkets he thinks are cool that have been left behind, including but not limited to: coins, plastic dinosaurs, those colorful BB gun pellets, jewelry that's broken or tangled, ect...

[cowboykind]

Lasso makes the shape of a heart in the air before he throws it

"Get em, Lassie!"

[cowboykind]

original characters come here... I want to draw all of our characters together. :-)

[cowboykind]

I hate to say it but indoor plumbing is something Saul isn't familiar with. Given that he's a cartoon character come to life, it doesn't really affect him (at first, and when he notices he is admittedly confused), but he could probably be persuaded into showering

[cowboykind]

"Makin' yer own ink? Well, I'll be darned, you must be a writer or somethin'!"

The last of the berries are shined up something nice and returned into the little critter's hands as Saul leans down to make it a bit less awkward for the both of them.

Never thought he'd come across a talkin' rat, never mind one that liked to write. But everything he'd seen so far had been nothing but a pleasant surprise.

"Oh, nearly forgot to introduce myself!" He laughs good-naturedly, and sticks out a hand, "my name's Salamander, but you can call me Saul if you'd like. Always nice to meet to meet new folk 'round here." A pause, and he tilts his head to the side, "...what's a movie?"

"Pardon me, didn't mean to run right into ya!"

They were too busy looking at something in a shop window. Happens more than you think! "Here, lemme help ya pick all this up."

[cowboykind]

Saul kind of works on cartoon physics. Gets kicked in the head by a horse and doesn't suffer from anything more than a mild concussion, gets hit by a car and walks it off, would be the guy who runs off a cliff and doesn't notice until he looks down type of thing. It would be interesting to have him be from some old or archived cowboy cartoon and got zapped into the real world instead.

[cowboykind]

Well, if this world was one thing, it's full of surprises! Course, he doesn't quite understand what she means when says the gentleman in question 'travels to our world' with the help of some 'gadget'. Maybe she's talking about a train. Surely they still had those in the good old 21st century!

He smiles real big at the prospect of the man waiting for him back home. "Yes ma'am, challenged me to a duel an' I never looked at him the same again when he outdrew me." He sighs as though he's reminiscing about that moment. "Told him I'd be home by supper but... guess I won't be? Hope he ain't too worried."

It's not like Saul could write him a letter. He wouldn't even know where to send it!

"Ain't no harm in tryin'! Why don't you sip on yer hot chocolate, an' I'll meet you right here at high noon tomorrow?"

Ah, loneliness...it's something that Sophia knew all too well. A long sigh escaped the blonde's lips, looking up from her table as she held the warm cup of cocoa in her hands.

For once, she decided to go out and treat herself, even if she was alone. It felt a little shameful, sure, but...she forgot how nice it was to get a little something at a cafe. It still didn't completely get rid of that nagging feeling of lonesomeless however, her eyebrows forrowing the more she thought about it. Was she ever gonna make any new friends here?...

[cowboykind]

He whistles, hands in his pockets as he takes a good look around. "So this is the 21st century. Ain't what I thought I'd be!" Everyone is so entranced by their little... boxes. There wasn't a horse in sight! He'd been stopped on the street by concerned passerby when they'd noticed the pistol holstered at his hip! They ran away when he'd agreed to show them it was real and shot the ground between his feet on accident!

"Y'mean I ain't the only one who ain't where I'm supposed to be?" Well, isn't that something? If this man could help him get back that would be lovely.

"Y'know somethin', Miss Sophia? I got me a man at home right now, an' I miss him more than anythin'." He takes off his hat, holding it over his heart, "you help me get back into his arms an' I'll do just about anythin' for ya."

Ah, loneliness...it's something that Sophia knew all too well. A long sigh escaped the blonde's lips, looking up from her table as she held the warm cup of cocoa in her hands.

For once, she decided to go out and treat herself, even if she was alone. It felt a little shameful, sure, but...she forgot how nice it was to get a little something at a cafe. It still didn't completely get rid of that nagging feeling of lonesomeless however, her eyebrows forrowing the more she thought about it. Was she ever gonna make any new friends here?...

[cowboykind]

"No, ma'am, I ain't. Last thing I remember, I get kicked in the head by a horse, an' I end up right here."

Maybe that explains a little bit about who he is as a person. Injuries like this happen quite often, but they don't bother him none.

"I do believe the year was 1865...?" Yeah, that sounds about right. "An' now there's automobiles an' short pants! Mighty strange." He took to this new world though. Everything is so new! And unique! It's unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

Ah, loneliness...it's something that Sophia knew all too well. A long sigh escaped the blonde's lips, looking up from her table as she held the warm cup of cocoa in her hands.

For once, she decided to go out and treat herself, even if she was alone. It felt a little shameful, sure, but...she forgot how nice it was to get a little something at a cafe. It still didn't completely get rid of that nagging feeling of lonesomeless however, her eyebrows forrowing the more she thought about it. Was she ever gonna make any new friends here?...

[cowboykind]

We love shipping in this house. 😍 Reblog if it's okay for partners to ask for a pre-established ship with your muse(s)!

Doesn't mean you have to accept, but you're totally down to discuss it!

[cowboykind]

"Yes, ma'am, I'm just fine," he replies. Well, giant bruise aside, but it doesn't hurt that bad anymore. Not unless he prodded at it. Like right now.

"The gentleman in the 'car' seemed real mad, though. Said I made him late fer work, do I know who he is. An' I said no sir, can't say I do." And then things really took a strange turn.

"I don't know what in tarnation 'insurance' is, but he wanted mine. So, I took a lizard from my pocket an' handed it to him, an' he went off real quick. Guess he'll back with my lizard soon?" And his darn hat got a little bent out of shape. Oh well.

Ah, loneliness...it's something that Sophia knew all too well. A long sigh escaped the blonde's lips, looking up from her table as she held the warm cup of cocoa in her hands.

For once, she decided to go out and treat herself, even if she was alone. It felt a little shameful, sure, but...she forgot how nice it was to get a little something at a cafe. It still didn't completely get rid of that nagging feeling of lonesomeless however, her eyebrows forrowing the more she thought about it. Was she ever gonna make any new friends here?...

[cowboykind]

Saul is a transman who does not mind not wearing a shirt or being nude in general. No one cared in his time, but people sure do seem to care in this time. If you ever see Saul in the newspaper, it's probably for public indecency or y'know, being a general (well-meaning) menace because he likes to walk in the middle of a busy street and chase after people's animals