Gino Elser

**Biography:** A native of the eastern Ech’kent town of Endlyn and son of a craftswoman and a merchant, Gino’s life was pretty much set in stone from birth—he would grow up, become a merchant like his father and occasionally travel to Jdinrma-Hash to sell his wares, but otherwise spend the rest of his life in Endlyn with his extended family and his friends, one of whom he would marry. That last position recently had come to be occupied in Gino’s imagination by his friend’s older brother Sawyer, who treated him so kindly all the time. Unfortunately, Gino’s future was destroyed in front of him when the political rebellion spearheaded by many in the town—including his parents— came to the king’s attention. All of Endlyn was destroyed and its inhabitants killed but for Gino, who’d been out of town berry picking, and a few of his friends. Gino then joined the renewed rebellion helmed by a foreigner and a dragon, and is currently living in the Sorcerer King’s castle, a captive after a failed attack, but still hoping that the rebellion can succeed.

**Notes:**

* Gino was always jealous of his cousins for having siblings, but they always treated him like a brother, so it wasn’t too bad
* Gino never really thought the rebellion his parents were participating in was a big deal until it was too late
* Gino has been travelling with his father to Jdinrma-Hash once a month since he was four years old
* Gino has always had a tendency to stop eating when he gets sad
* Gino’s relationship with Sawyer started when he got a kiss from Sawyer during a game, then followed him for three days insisting on more kisses, which led to him admitting that he just liked being with Sawyer
* On the day of the attack on Endlyn, Gino was out picking berries to put in cookies for Sawyer, and hid in the bushes when he heard the screams. He regrets hiding more than anything
* Gino tends to blame himself for things outside of his control, like the attack or Max’s betrayal
* Gino grew up listening to stories about dragons and how they used to protect the plateau, and still firmly believes that the dragons are his best bet at protection in the long run
* Though he is ashamed to tell anyone, violence makes Gino feel sick
* Gino likes the castle better than the cave purely because there are more people there and even if many of them are horrible, he was starting to feel lonely living with just a half-dozen people

**Quotes:**

* “He can *help* us.”
* “You’re really a dragon!”
* “You’ll grow to love it with practice.”
* “But I think you’re wr—mistaken. Humans aren’t cowards by nature. But we live in groups and families and towns and we look out for each other. We can’t afford to only think about the things that are good for us—we have to think about the danger to our families too. That’s why we’re doing this. It’s why we’re doing any of this. Because the Sorcerer King is bad for everyone in Ech’kent, not just the four of us. That’s why we’re here.”
* “You all just watched me suck Cassius’s cock. We’ve all watched each other get fucked by him, why would this be so different?”
* “I’m glad…I’m glad that I still have you—both of you.”
* “Aw…I want to cuddle.”
* “Oh, we don’t do that anymore.”
* “Who promised that? The king?”
* “Why didn’t you trust us, Max? Why didn’t you trust me?”
* “You’re the one who made Max betray us.”
* “I…I wouldn’t. You’re my friend.”

**Trivia:**

* Gino was ten before he honestly understood that Ech’kent wasn’t the entire world
* Gino and all of his cousins used to play town-wide games of tag and hide-and-seek, the former of which he usually lost and the latter he always won
* Gino’s first sexual experience was when he and Parker were playing just outside the village when Gino was six, and a man neither of them knew gave them a copper coin each in exchange for getting naked and kissing each other for a few minutes, and then for touching his penis to “help” him while he masturbated. They never saw him again after that
* Gino has climbed every tree and building in and around Endlyn
* Gino frequently dreams about riding large, horned animals that he is sure don’t exist
* Initially, Gino and Sean didn’t like each other. That changed when they were five and they bonded over laughing at Sawyer’s clothes getting washed away in the river
* When he was nine, Gino and his father were travelling back from Jdinrma-Hash and were stopped by some of the king’s guards, who did a routine inspection and strip search, during which they forced Gino to prove he loved his dad by giving him a few kisses on the cock
* Gino had two cats growing up, named Oleander and Marshall
* When Sawyer wanted to start having sex with Gino, Gino pretended that he knew all about it, and ended up picking it up very quickly over the course of the next few nights. Nearly all of their first times were at sleepovers or campouts with Sean sleeping nearby
* Gino knows from having overheard his parents talk that they couldn’t initially have children, but traded something to someone to have him. He doesn’t know the details

**Modern AU:** Modern Gino was at the convenience store one day when his apartment complex was destroyed in a tragic fire and almost all of his family killed for reasons that he doesn’t fully understand but knows was the mob. Nobody did anything, and Gino and his friends accepted an offer from a local weapons dealer and child pornographer to be his unpaid actors in exchange for weapons and help taking down the mob. Of all his friends, Gino adjusted to this the most quickly except for Cyrus, and was able to start going back to school armed with the lie that he was living with his uncle and aunt. Gino is the vice-president of his school’s decorating committee and excels in social studies. When not studying, making wall decals or participating in depraved sex acts with whomever he’s ordered to, Gino likes climbing trees, researching tattoos and figuring out how to get Cassius to let him get them, learning how to play the guitar and spending quiet time with his boyfriend.