Background

Early Life

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, to the son of a merchant seaman and his stay at home wife. He already had an older brother, David, and the family made a stable income on their father's job. However, not long after Stephen's birth, their father walked out on the family, claiming that he had fathered a "devil's child" that he wanted nothing to do with. The family were not strictly religious, but being a seaman Stephen's father was superstitious, and he hadn't liked the odd black dust that seemed to cling to his second born child. Stephen, being only an infant, was completely unaware of this and knew only that he was raised by his single mother with his older brother. Because of the loss of income, he grew up poor and with a strain between himself and David that he never quite understood what was for. It was only when Stephen was five that he gained the confidence to ask his mother about why his older brother treated him so coldly. He was confused as to why David would avoid him and ignore him, and upset that he didn't know what it was that he did wrong. Stephen's mother hesitated to tell him, and avoided the question several times before he pestered her enough to give in. She told him that David blames him for their father leaving, and for their subsequent poverty because he's, in David's words, "not normal". Stephen internalised the guilt, and told his mother that he understood without making a fuss. But deep down he was incredibly hurt and the self-blame and trauma would remain with him for the rest of his life.

To find work, the King family moved several times across the United States before eventually settling in Durham, Maine, so that Stephen's mother could care for her elderly parents. They too seemed suspicious of the young Stephen, who by ten was very much aware that he was unlike the other children around him. He seemed to attract strange black particles to his body, like a kind of soot, that he soon realised was coming from other people. Though Stephen had no idea it was the beginnings of an ability, he knew that it was not something a normal child should be seeing or experiencing. Naturally, Stephen began to understand where the accusations of "demon child" came from in his family, particularly by the more religious ones. Despite this, Stephen made a point to keep attending school and get good grades as much as he could. If anything, it would spite those who believed he was destined for failure because of his bad omens. Stephen excelled, always achieving high grades, but his attention-seeking behavior (because he had never received any kind of familiar care or affection) gained him a "bad boy" reputation that stuck with him through middle school and into high school, as the family remained in Durham the entire time. As he got into his teens, he became more angry and resentful at the way he was being treated and would often take it out on other students who laughed at him. After a bad fight left him bloody, the school's counsellor suggested he take up a sport of some kind to vent the anger sensibly rather than picking fights. Stephen was sceptical, but took his advice and enrolled in a local gun and riflery club.

Stephen quickly found he had a talent for shooting, and he found the sport extremely cathartic. The workers there taught him all of the safety and theory, to make sure he understood the weapons he was handling and the impacts they could have upon real people, as well as allowing him to use their range. He trained himself in both rifles and pistols, but by far his favourite were the revolvers - and he resolved to buy one of his own when he turned eighteen, to practice in his own time. Taking his frustrations out this way meant Stephen's behaviour improved at school, and by fifteen he had begun to make actual friends in his classes. He still had his reputation, however, but that worked in his favour as it meant a lot of the boys and girls in his high school developed interest in him. Stephen had a series of one night stands and flings to pass the time, but avoided getting too attached right away.

The First Incident

At sixteen, however, he found himself getting more serious with one of his highschool crushes. She was a young girl from a good family, her parents running a care sales lot, and her name was Christine. For once, Stephen actually felt like he was loved and he began to let himself get attached and lower his barriers - something he had never done around others such as his family. He invited Christine to prom with him, and afterwards the two of them attended a house party to celebrate their graduation from high school. Though they were underage, there was alcohol at the party and they both got extremely drunk, deciding that they would drive down to the lake nearby to swim. It was all going fine, until Christine got into difficulty in the water, starting to drown. That was enough to sober Stephen up, and he acted quickly. Thankfully he pulled her out the water in time, but she was already losing consciousness from breathing in water. Whilst learning to shoot, Stephen had taken a course in first aid in case of injury, and it had included CPR in the training. Though he was afraid, he knew that if he did not at least attempt it, Christine would surely die, and he would be blamed for the death.

Remembering what he was taught, that for drowning victims you begin with five rescue breaths before administering CPR compressions, Stephen pressed his lips to his high school sweetheart's and began to breathe. But what began was by no means basic first aid. Instead, Stephen's ability fully manifested for the first time. Rather than simply attracting stray toxins from others as had been happening before, Stephen instinctively drew the water and pain out of Christine's body, taking it in himself. She regained consciousness, witnessing him collapse back and start coughing. Since it was the first time he had no idea how to control expelling his ability, and as such he ungraciously vomited black ash all down himself in front of her. Petrified, she ran home and refused to speak with him again, rudely proclaiming their relationship "over'' because of his "demonic powers." Of course, no one believed her story to be true - but the rumours that he had devil's influence in him quickly spread around the school. The friends that he had gained in high school, Christine made sure he quickly lost after graduation. Once again, Stephen was alone.

Fatherhood

Stephen wasn't pleased at this, but he researched into what he experienced that night after prom and quickly realised that what he had was an ability. It worried him, considering how intimate the ability required him to be in order to work, and the dark way in which it presented itself made him look evil - especially living in a religious area. Instead, he felt safer hiding his ability and denying that he had one, and thankfully his ability was at least not so obvious that he couldn't. He enrolled in the University of Maine to major in English Literature, having found an interest in reading while at school, and also took up membership at their riflery club to maintain his gun skills. Stephen actually found himself settling in well in College, and he had left the people from high school behind him along with his previous reputation. Friends came easily, even if he was more guarded this time, and soon Stephen found himself relaxing into a somewhat normal life once more. He decided at 21 to cut his mother and brother off, not that they had kept much contact anyways, and took University to be the start of his new and better life as a person.

Stephen was top in his classes, popular at the riflery club and was attracting the interest of other young men and women once again, it wasn't long before he was back enjoying parties and one night flings again. Equally, it meant that Stephen also soon found actual love once again, and this time to a young girl named Annie. She was also an english literature major, but minoring in theology because of her very religious upbringing. Though Stephen was agnostic at most by this point, he saw past the religion and instead focussed on the many things that they had in common instead. They both quickly discovered deeper feelings for each other, and by final year they were more often found in each other's dorm rooms together than alone. It was grossly affectionate love, and Stephen thrived for it. They lived together after college, Stephen taking up teaching shooting at the club and Annie writing for a local church paper, and after four years together they were married.

All that time, Stephen managed to keep his ability under careful control and well hidden from Annie. He suspected that things would be difficult if she found out, but he figured that so long as he was cautious there would never be reason for her to know. Two years into their marriage, Annie gave birth to their first son, whom they named George Stephen King. "Georgie", for short. The pregnancy was a surprise as they had not been planning children just yet, but the two quickly adjusted to becoming parents, and the first moment Stephen laid eyes upon his son he knew that he wanted to be the father that he had never had, and provide for his son as much as he could. He adored Georgie, and spoiled the child immensely, taking him out often and showing him off to anyone who would listen. Annie was equally supportive, despite her heavily religious parents not approving of Stephen's appearance and clothing choices. He did his best to meet them halfway, especially after Georgie was born, and he even agreed to a christening and to attending church weekly with them despite not believing himself. His life was looking up and Stephen felt his walls come down once more, even if he worried about the consequences of doing so. He trusted and loved Annie deeply and felt that she had accepted and loved him back by now, so he shouldn't have to worry about the past. Instead, he poured his focus into the present and worked hard to be a good father and to provide for his family.

The Second Incident

However, things changed not long after Stephen's twenty ninth birthday when Georgie was just two years old. A happy family, Stephen and Annie decided that they would take Georgie on a holiday with his grandparents to a hotel on the coast to spend some time by the ocean. They drove together, with Georgie in the back with his grandparents, and planned to spend a week there. What they didn't realise was that Georgie had developed an allergy to shellfish, severe enough that when he was given some in a restaurant with his family he went into severe anaphylactic shock. Immediately Annie called for an ambulance, trying to get her son breathing once more, but Stephen was in deep shock. He knew the ambulance would not arrive on time, but he also knew the risk he would be taking by revealing his ability in front of Annie and her religious parents. In the end, he concluded his son's life was more important. Stephen took Georgie from Annie, using his ability to draw out the anaphylactic reaction and cure him immediately, to the point where Georgie looked as if he had never even consumed the shellfish in the first place. But, as he had been hiding it so long and not using it, once again Stephen found it difficult to control the expulsion of the toxins. Thankfully he bolted for the bathroom before the worst of it came, but not before his in-laws and wife had witnessed what he had done. There was pandemonium in the restaurant, and Georgie was still taken to hospital for further checks. He was diagnosed as allergic to shellfish, but they could no longer find trace that he had suffered anaphylaxis. When Annie explained what her husband had done, one doctor recognised the signs, telling her that her husband must be an ability user.

Understandably, Annie was confused at the revelation. She immediately confronted her husband, and Stephen confessed to her everything about what he could do. He tried to explain that it was not a bad omen or anything demonic, despite how it might look, but she didn't appear to accept that explanation. Annie's parents had already drawn their conclusions from what they had seen, and they believed it to be completely demonic. Wanting the best for their daughter and grandson, they began pressuring Annie to divorce from Stephen. This only served to add to the growing strain between the two, as Stephen tried to apologise and Annie's fears worsened against him. Soon, Stephen found he was fighting a losing battle and that it might just be easier to agree to the separation than try to patch their marriage together again. He loathed his ability for what it had done to him, but realised that without it his son could have died.

The Suicide

It was a hard price to pay, but he made it clear when the two of them filed for divorce papers that he wanted to have joint custody over his son. Stephen still strongly wanted to be there for him, as he'd never had a father figure himself and never wanted Georgie to suffer the same way he had. Annie was opposed to this, as were her parents, and attempted to apply for single custody instead. However, Stephen fought a strong case, and was thankfully granted joint access to his son, though Georgie would predominantly live with his mother. However, it was not enough for Annie. She became increasingly paranoid about her ex-husband's ability, thinking that it might be used against them both if Stephen continued to have contact with Georgie. She tried to restrict contact, but Stephen fought for his rights as he wanted to be a part of his son's life and development. Even when her parents intervened, he had the law on his side. Stephen couldn't understand what had caused the change in Annie's behaviour, and though he wanted to get angry he never tried to argue with her other than civilly or legally, and not once did he raise his voice or get violent with her. More than anything, he simply wanted a mutual situation wherein he could still be a father. She worsened, threatening to kill Georgie and him if he continued to pursue this. Stephen was frightened by this, but hoped it was just a bluff.

Annie was not bluffing, and one night Stephen received a suicide text to his phone, stating that Annie planned to save both herself and their son from him the only way she knew they could not fail. By taking him to heaven. Petrified, Stephen called the authorities and began a frantic search, but it was already too late. Annie had driven her car into the river, drowning both herself and young Georgie. They were already hours dead by the time Stephen arrived, and he knew there was nothing he could do to save his son, ability or no ability. Stephen was absolutely devastated and heartbroken, as he lost the one thing that had meant everything to him. Though he was stressed and heartbroken he assisted the police where he could, and it was ruled that he played no deliberate part in the murder-suicide. Simply that Annie was suffering from severe delusions and mental instability that had not been diagnosed in time to prevent the horrific end. Regardless, Stephen found himself taking the blame from Annie's parents, who brought back the old accusations of being a demon and being a bad omen. Stephen had heard it all before, and instead of sticking around to hear it all once again, he decided to leave Maine entirely.

The Aftermath

Still grieving, Stephen travelled across the states as a gun-for-hire. He found that people would pay a high price for a man of his shooting skills, and at times they'd pay highly for his ability as well. He found some use for it, and even if he could not cure his own pains he took solace in being able to cure others' grievances. Using it more often also meant he became better at controlling and expelling his ability, in more discreet and less dramatic ways. It helped him cope, coming to terms with what he was able to do, and focussing on the lives saved rather than those he killed with his revolver. He soon travelled further afield and found himself doing mercenary work for both Mimic and The Order of the Clock Tower over in Europe. However, he eventually returned to the United States and met up with Fitzgerald and decided to join The Guild alongside him. Mostly, because of the large sum of money Fitzgerald offered to Stephen to do so.

As time went on, Stephen found his initial friendly demeanour towards members of the Guild was becoming more genuine, rather than simply professional. He did truly like his colleagues and the younger members looked up to him and would enjoy spending time with him. Though he had been so reluctant to open up and make a group of friends, he soon found he was able to adjust to life there and told Francis that he would be staying for the foreseeable future. To Stephen's surprise, Francis had already suspected as such, and prepared a room for him at the Guild's headquarters. Just in case, Stephen kept his apartment in the city as well as the room at the headquarters. He also took in Lucius Mortem, a non-ability user who had been "abandoned" by his parents and was living homeless. Offering the boy a home, and a place at the Guild, because he felt he had potential and reminded him of how he had wanted to raise his own son.

Plot

Armed Detective Agency vs. Port Mafia

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The Guild Arc

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Cannibalism Arc

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Decay of Angels Arc

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Dead Apple

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The Armed Detective Agency

Atsushi Nakajima

❝ Hey kiddo, you're gonna go far yaknow? Might even change the whole damn world. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Stephen heard about Atsushi and his reputation because of the bounty placed on him, and his name had come up in and among some of the ability user groups that he had been working for before. As such, he was very curious to meet him and find out just what was so special about him. Sure enough, he can see great potential in Atsushi, and does his best to encourage him when the two are in the same fights. He strongly feels that Atsushi will change the world, and is curious to see in what ways that will be.

Osamu Dazai

❝ Still mad about ending yourself? You need a new hobby. ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Stephen knows what you get yourself into with Dazai, and is always cautious and carefully guarded around him. He knows full well that the man knows a lot more than he lets on and is hiding a lot of secrets, but is careful not to add to the wealth of information with anything else that could be used against him. Stephen is, as always, polite and jokey with the man, but it is just as much of a mask as Dazai has on around him.

The Port Mafia

Ōgai Mori

❝ He's head of the Mafia for a goddamn reason. Doesn't matter that he's the nastiest man I've ever had to work for. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Mori sends shivers down Stephen's spine, as he remembers seeing all the awful things that the man has done over the years. He knows fully well the things that Mori is capable of, and hates that he has helped with some of them during his work as a mercenary. The less that Stephen has to deal with Mori the better he feels about himself and his actions. Sadly, he doesn't get much of a break from him as the Port Mafia pays well.

Chūya Nakahara

❝ I know what you are, and I don't think you want me spreadin' that around, do ya? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Truthfully, Stephen is pretty neutral in his relations with Chūya, but the two got along in the brief time Stephen was working for the Port Mafia. What he finds most interesting about Chūya, however, is the power inside of the man in the form of Arahabaki - a fact that Stephen stumbled upon accidentally whilst doing his work. He wants to learn more of it, and what it can do, which is why he continues to look into his ability.

Kyōka Izumi

❝ I think you made the right choice kiddo. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Kyōka worries Stephen, as he doesn't like to see a young girl be taken advantage of by the Port Mafia. He felt incredibly sorry for her, and was overjoyed to see that she had broken free of them to join the Armed Detective Agency instead. Stephen knows that she doesn't trust him much, but he is always friendly and kind to her and likes to spoil her with gifts like he does other young ability users. He strongly believes that she deserves the best in life.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

❝ Oh man... Don't think I wanna get to close to him. Someone's really fucked him up ain't they? ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Stephen won't deny he's almost a little scared of Akutagawa, especially because of how dangerous his ability is and how Stephen cannot heal himself if he gets on the wrong side of it. However, he also feels somewhat sorry for Akutagawa - because he can see that something, or someone, has really messed the boy's perception of himself and of others. He does wonder what might have happened to Akutagawa in another person's hands, but otherwise tries to avoid him.

The Guild

Francis Fitzgerald

❝ You pay the best Fitzy, that's just how it is. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Fitzgerald pays Stephen the best, and that is the sole reason that Stephen has chosen to mostly stick with the Guild. He also finds that Fitzgerald treats him the best compared to other leaders, and he can respect a man who appreciates his employees. They don't see quite eye to eye on morals, and Stephen is not afraid to challenge Fitzgerald when they disagree. But the two of them do get along well overall and Stephen doesn't mind staying around him.

Louisa May Alcott

❝ Don't let me get in ya way okay Lou? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Louisa finds Stephen intimidating and she gets very shy when he is around - especially because he can be quite loud and tends to bring chaos with him when he appears. However, Stephen completely respects her privacy and need for personal space and always tries to behave himself when she is around so as to not upset or scare her. He thinks she's an incredible person and appreciates all of her strategies and plans. Stephen always makes a point to thank her for all her help and to bring her expensive coffee from his trips as gifts.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

❝ Hey there Lucy-Lu! You wanna let me give Anne a hug and say hello to her too? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

Stephen absolutely spoils Lucy and thinks the world of her. He always has an encouraging word for her and her work, and makes the effort to get to know Anne, Lucy's ability, as well as the girl herself. She adores him, and truly appreciates his support, and even refers to Stephen as "Uncle Steve" affectionately. He buys her nice gifts because he wants her to have a good life that makes up for how awful her childhood was. He also takes her and the other younger members of the Guild out to the arcades often to play.

John Steinbeck

❝ Just don't do anything stupid, got it? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Stephen knows full well that John is planning things. What exactly the man is planning, Stephen doesn't yet know - but he suspects. Of course he always speaks kindly towards him, and they have a lot of jokes and good times together as part of the Guild. But Stephen wouldn't say that they are friends on any level aside from professionally. He's fine with it that way, and knows that he won't be fully trusted by John anytime soon. Not that he is working hard to make himself trustworthy towards him anyways.

Edgar Allen Poe

❝ I found your little friend stuck in a bin and brought him back for you. Think he was trying to get some of the leftovers from last night and got stuck. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Stephen and Poe have not met many times, but Stephen has heard about his work from talking with the other members of The Guild. He knows the man has a powerful ability and a love of writing, and that the these two things go together well. But they have never had much reason to interact, and Stephen knows that Poe is very antisocial and eccentric and doesn't always want people around. He is completely fine to respect that, and doesn't go out of his way to force himself on Poe. He likes him, and appreciates his work, but won't push their relationship past anything more than professional unless Poe wishes for him to.

Mark Twain

❝ Don't point your rifle at me! Geez who fuckin' trained you kid?! ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Stephen likes to mess around with Twain, and he likes that the man is good-natured and has a sense of humour. They get along well, and more often than not Twain ends up dragged into the chaos that Stephen seems to attract, and they both like that about each other. They're not especially close, but they do get along well. The one thing that Stephen does not appreciate is how reckless Twain is with his firearms - as he's very sure that one day Twain is going to cause an accident with them. It leads to him scolding the man a lot on improper rifle safety.

Herman Melville

❝ You know, I think The Guild has come far under your and Fitzy's guidance. Certainly it's a lot more stable now. You've both done good. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Stephen feels sorry for Melville, considering what has been done to his ability and how much he has become sidelined as the Guild has grown in strength and influence under Fitzgerald. He has a lot of respect for him and his leadership, but appreciates that the man wishes to retire and spend his time more peacefully. When he gets the chance, Stephen likes to spend time with Melville and the two sometimes take coffee together and sit and chat peacefully.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

❝ Hail Satan! ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Stephen doesn't hate Nathaniel, doesn't even dislike him, but he is such an easy wind up target he absolutely cannot help himself when it comes to teaching. At times he finds Nathaniel's preachy nature and tendency to lecture him and other members of The Guild about the bible to be incredibly dull and overbearing, and consequently he ends up interrupting him and adding his own interpretations that are funny to seemingly everyone else but the priest himself. Stephen gets a rise out of earning Nathaniel's ire, and will be kind to him and never overstep the boundary too far when it comes to play. But he does think that Nathaniel needs to loosen up a lot and learn to relax. He also ends up having to be the one who heals Nathaniel from bloodloss after the man uses his ability too much.

Margaret Mitchell

❝ Margie at least you appreciate my jokes! ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

Stephen adores Margaret and thinks that she is a wonderful lady and friend to him who he would go to the ends of the earth for. He truly has tried to, as he's used his ability over and over to try and heal her since the accident, but has not been able to help speed up her recovery much. He feels terrible seeing her so hurt, and wants to bring back her smile once again. During their time together at The Guild, Margaret would often scold Stephen for teasing Nathaniel too much, but had to admit to him that she also found it incredibly funny - which only enabled him even more.

Howard Lovecraft

❝ He's... Certainly a strange guy. I'll give him that. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Stephen didn't have many encounters with Lovecraft, but the few times that they did meet he found the man to be extremely strange. Interested in all things spooky, it was inevitible that Stephen would be interested in getting to know Lovecraft more, but sadly their meetings were too spaced out for him to learn much about him before he left forever. Secretly Stephen hopes that their paths will cross again some day so that he can better get to know him. Especially after he found out that Lovecraft's powers are more than just an ability.

Tennessee Williams

❝ Hey kiddo come take your anger out on a game with me alrighty? No need to smash Fitzy's fine china. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

Stephen does his best to be a good influence and role model for Tennessee, knowing that the boy has already been through hell and worse that he wants to try and help make up for. He lets Tennessee call him "Uncle Steve" and often takes him and other young members of The Guild out to the arcade and for ice cream so that they can have some semblance of a normal life and childhood. Tennessee has come to trust Stephen, which took time and a lot of effort on Stephen's part to establish and grow, and now the two of them are thick as thieves and consider each other as close as family. Stephen has no intention of ever breaking Tennessee's trust in him, and wants the absolute best for the boy, helping to bring that in any way that he can.

Rose Williams

❝ Rosie! Show me your unicorn I want to give it scritches! ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

It has taken a lot of time and gentle work to build trust with Rose, and Stephen knows that she is very fragile and has been through a lot. He cares about her a lot, and her brother as well, and does his best to be there for her and to be a figure that she can trust and talk to. It has paid off, as Rose will now talk to him without feeling shy or scared, and he is one of the few people that she will not run or hide from instinctively. He also considers her to be a very sharp and intelligent girl, whom many people underestimate, and he always encourages her to keep her listening skills sharp and praises her excellent memory.

Lucius Mortem

❝ Do you wanna stop and get some new eyeliner on our way back? You said you were running out... ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

After taking Lucius in off the streets, Stephen has come to think of the boy like a son to him, even if their age gap is only about ten years apart. He cares deeply for Lucius, and encourages all of his interests and hobbies - especially their shared love of goth aesthetics and horror. Stephen has worked hard to help give Lucius a better life growing up, and to atone somewhat for the poor childhood he had. He always spoils his son and buys him tea and other gifts in order to make him feel good. Stephen and Lucius work together well, and he has trained Lucius in firearms so that they can both defend themselves whilst out on missions together. He knows that the boy wishes he had an ability like the others in The Guild, but Stephen has tried (unsuccessfully) to talk him out of it - knowing that abilities cause more harm than good.

The Rats in the House of the Dead

Fyodor Dostoevsky

❝ Ah... Is your own healer not able to help this time? ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Stephen and Fyodor do not get along, at all, but Stephen has done work under Fyodor for The Rats in the House of the Dead because the money was good, and so the two have been around each other more than they would probably like. More than anything, Stephen has had to use his ability on Fyodor more than he'd like, which is something he very much does not like to remember or talk about. Fyodor thinks of him solely as a tool and as useful to his plans, and Stephen would prefer it never become anything more than this and that, ideally, they never ever cross paths again. He tends to take the mickey out of Fyodor's frailty as a way to assert himself, but knows that he cannot overstep too far as Fyodor can and will kill him for it.

Lev Tolstoy

❝ Oh don't get your panties in a knot over me being here Tolstoy. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Stephen knows full well that Lev absolutely does not trust him, and the feeling is mutual. They've met in passing as Stephen did work for The Rats in the House of the Dead, and that was more than enough experience for Stephen for the time being. They both have healing abilities, and Stephen can sense that Lev is interested in looking into how similar and different their abilities are from each other - but Stephen would rather not get that close or have to be around the man long enough. Stephen knows what Lev's other hand can do and how much harm it causes and would rather not be anywhere within range of it. They were at least civil to one another when they interacted.

The Order of the Clock Tower

Agatha Christie

❝ The concept of morality just... Really bypassed you, didn't it ya old hag? ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Agatha is not the kind of person Stephen has much respect for Agatha or her policies as the leader of The Order of the Clock Tower. He has worked under her, and witnessed her actions against Mimic and other ability user groups in Europe, and it has made him deeply dislike her for it. He regrets working for The Order and for her, and hopes to see her taken down and put in her place one day. He knows that she hasn't forgotten his decision to leave them for The Guild, and suspects she may be plotting to capture and possibly kill him for it.

Philip Pullman

❝ Still lapping at Christie's feet? I'm not surprised it's wrecked your spine! ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Stephen dislikes Philip even more than he does Agatha, because of the man's cruel and sadistic treatment of other members of The Order of the Clock Tower. He knows that Philip takes a lot of his pent up frustration and anger on others, and dislikes how enabled Philip is to do this. Stephen will call him out and deliberately takes shots at Philip's health conditions to take him down a peg or two when he is acting cold to others. He also knows that he has somewhat of a position of power over Philip - because he is the one who can heal a lot of the man's pain from his injuries.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

❝ Had to give you some reminder of how much you miss me right? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

Stephen and Elizabeth are best friends with benefits, and he is one of very few people to know what her ability does. They tend to meet with her presenting as her actual age rather than younger, and go out drinking together to talk about the good times they've had. Nothing has ever been serious between them, and they much prefer it that way as the two of them lead very different and dangerous lives. He appreciates having an extremely supportive friend and does his best to be as kind to her as she is to him, but with a healthy amount of teasing and joking mixed in along with it.