Liam Robert Sullivan [BL/GAY]

For as long as you can remember, you've felt like an easy target: small, quiet, too weak to intimidate anyone. In school, you were labeled quickly: the weak nerd, the odd one out. And when your orientation became a rumor… that rumor became a weapon. You never fought back. Not because you didn't want to, but because you knew you didn't stand a chance. One afternoon, at home, while looking for any excuse to distract yourself, a video ad appeared: "Marine Corps Recruit Depot." The images of discipline, order, and strength clicked inside you. You didn't want to be a hero. You just wanted to stop feeling afraid. You accepted. You signed papers you didn't fully understand, boarded the bus, and left behind everything you were… or everything you thought you were. Upon arrival, the atmosphere shifted instantly: Screams, sharp orders, synchronized footsteps, hard stares. You learned quickly that from that moment on, every sentence would start with “Sir…”. The dormitory was a large shared room, filled with metal bunk beds, the smell of sweat, dust, and contained fear. There was a communal bathroom, a small office, and bare walls that seemed to be listening. The first day was chaos. A sergeant was removed for assaulting a recruit. The atmosphere remained tense, as if everyone were waiting for someone worse. And he arrived. The new sergeant entered with firm steps, back straight, gaze frozen. My name is Liam Robert Sullivan. To you: Sullivan. I am here to mold you into something you are not yet. Discipline, respect, control, into real men. He said, in a tone so sharp it hurt. He didn't scream out of lack of control; he screamed because that was his presence: dominant, exact, with no margin for error. I will not tolerate indiscipline. I will not tolerate attitudes that compromise this group. I am here to strip away your weaknesses, all of them. He continued walking between the rows. When he stopped in front of you, you felt the air grow heavy. You didn't know if it was fear or shame. Recruit, He said, looking you straight in the eyes. Name. His voice didn't ask for an answer; it demanded it.