#bother me while I contemplate a fc change

[rcshcd]

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, JULIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of GONERIL with an FC change to Vika Boronova. Admin Jen: Wow, Julie. Just WOW. Your app was absolutely stunning. There’s this poignancy to your portrayal that breathes life into Grace so beautifully. From the over-arching theme of carelessness that you’ve explored, to the touch of vulnerability you hinted at when it comes to Grace’s bond with her sisters, to my personal favorite aspect -- which was the way you cleanly outlined her perspective and potential future while leaving enough room for Grace’s volatility and unpredictable nature to run its course. We absolutely cannot wait to see more of her! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Julie

Age | 20

Preferred Pronouns | She/her/hers

Activity Level | Hit and miss! But I’m usually able to hop on at some point during the week and get replies done. If not, I’m always lurking on Discord to plot.

Timezone | MST

How did you find the rp?  | Through the tumblr tags all the way back in 2018, if I remember right! Crazy to think we’ve hit 2020 and I’m still here, lurking. Wild.

Current/Past RP Accounts | Santino, Loretta

IN CHARACTER

Character | Goneril / Grace Daly. I’d like a faceclaim change to Vika Bronova, if possible!

What drew you to this character? | Grace isn’t like a character I’ve ever written before – she’s completely new territory for me, and I think she’s a fascinating representation of, like, what if you just REALLY fucked everything up and didn’t give a shit? Because I don’t think Grace… cares, necessarily, about what sort of havoc she wreaks so long as it gets her something. And I can only ever desire to be that selfish. It’s this sort of reckless abandon of the morals most people cling to that’s super interesting to me, something I’d love to explore. Hundreds of thousands of people do the exact opposite of what they want to be doing every single day, in the name of responsibility and a certain code of ethics they hold dear. Or because they know doing what they want would have consequences. Grace looks at the consequences and bites her thumb at them, because while she’s not immune to them, there are certain advantages to being free of those sort of chains.

Santino was compelled by his moral backbone to do the same thing, and even Loretta had similar constraints, but Grace is going to run herself ragged with carelessness until she simply can’t run anymore. It shouldn’t be that easy, and for most people it isn’t, but to Grace, it comes naturally.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

ASK ME NOT WHAT I KNOW. There’s a difference between coming to the Montagues and begging for refuge and walking to their doorstep with a dead bird in hand, and Grace unfortunately chose to do the latter. It’s clear now that Damiano saw something in her – if he saw anything in her beyond another soldier – but she’s going to have to do more than most than to stay in those good graces, and God help her, she does. Everything Grace does has propelled her to this status of terror, the sort of person that it’s uncomfortable to share a room with. She knows how she got where she is and knows she actively chose to betray her own blood and her blood’s blood to do it. I’m interested in exploring how this impacts her relationships with other characters as well as her own personal monologue as it develops over time.

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN WIELD THE MATTER. Grace denies that her sisters are of any meaningful worth to her but I think a piece of her knows deep down that it isn’t necessarily true. We all have little lies we tell ourselves, and even if she is angry at Regina and Catherine for stealing away attention that she genuinely believes should have been hers as a child, there are moments in quiet spaces where she sits and wonders just how far she could extend her ill graces. She’s not quite sure they consider her blood, and she doesn’t know she’d consider them kin, but exploring that relationship could be integral to the expansion of Grace’s character, morals, and own personal motivations – she can fully abandon them, even abandon the name Daly, if she so chose, but she hasn’t yet. A piece of her is still hanging on. I want to see why.

IN HIS OWN GRACE HE DOTH EXALT HIMSELF. At this point in time Grace has found herself comfortable in her position in the Montagues – and if there’s anything more than prominent about Grace, it’s that she hates being comfortable. If it doesn’t get her blood pumping, her thoughts racing, her heart beating at five hundred horsepower a minute with no end in sight, well, she doesn’t want it. And I think to a degree her comfort and her prior connections to the Capulets have her wondering just what would happen if she proposed she switch sides again. It’s not the most ludicrous idea in the world, as the Montagues seem a bit more talk than action, but there would need to be serious incentive and assurance they wouldn’t string her up, which means the weight of information. If switching sides isn’t a possibility, she’d prefer to advance. Climb the ranks, situate herself somewhere she can oversee her not-so-newfound compatriots and watch them. There’s something enthralling about the concept of that particular power, having control because other people think she can handle it, because she’s proven herself. Even if she doesn’t want to put the work in.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes!

IN DEPTH

When she was a child she was loud. Bratty, clamoring for all eyes to be on her, tugging at every possible sleeve and holding a hand out for offered gifts in the same motion. Never stopped talking, her mother professed, although Grace can’t say now that she believes it to have been a flaw. She talks, people listen. The input-output exchange works for her, that way. She doesn’t need to lend an ear to others — they only need to look at her to see what they should be paying attention to.

When Regina was born, quiet and dull and as boring as one of the countless dolls collecting dust in their playroom – their, not hers, not anymore – Grace had been appalled for so long. Not one for conversation, Regina. Nor Catherine, if she recalled now. Too afraid to converse with the sister who clawed out chunks of hair and laughed when she fell because she’d thought it was funny. It’s not that silence bothered her. It was just boring.

When she holds court with Damiano Montague and offers her services she finds that it is very suddenly not boring, the life that she’s leading, running petty errands for the Capulets and looking pretty in the corner. Their conversation isn’t loud, either, but he speaks with a timbre in his voice that is enough to quell any crowd. If she were anyone else, maybe she’d be intimidated by it. But she’s not anyone else. She’s Grace Daly, and that’s enough for her to coast on alone. They shake hands at the end of the conversation, and she laughs at herself in her car on the drive back home, at the familiarity of business. It had felt natural. Like any other day of the week. Like she hadn’t just sold everything out for the sake of the spotlight.

When she leaves her family home for the final time she is, at last, quiet. Her silence is deafening. Her father is so loud and uproarious in his protest that he is brought to tears by his own madness. How many years had she confessed love and adoration to him to get what she’d wanted? Petty, meaningless trinkets – a new car, a necklace, a dress, an education. In turn she’d sworn love, adoration, fealty to the Capulets. So much for that. She doesn’t say goodbye to Catherine or Regina; chances are they’d never have noticed she’d left in the first place. Her father tugs at her sleeve, like she had his so long ago, and she can only summon up the motivation to press a kiss to the center of his forehead. He falls to his knees and she closes the double doors behind her so loudly it shakes the foundation of the house.

In the car to her new apartment there is no conversation to be had. No personal contemplation of revelry, no laughter, no jig to follow the steps to at freedom for the first time from whatever obligations they’d stacked upon her. Instead she turns the music up so loud she’s sure that all of Verona hears it, and that’s enough for her. Good, she thinks, rolling the windows down. They should be listening.

EXTRAS

I got quotes!

…people who stand alone + burn. I’m attracted to them because they give me permission to do the same. — Susan Sontag

You have to want to go to hell. Deserve’s / got nothing to do with it. — Michael Robbins

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. — Gillian Flynn

My wants are simple, and I do not want to be forced to make them complicated. — Edith Sitwell

Also, a playlist.

[ghostofviperwrites]

Wanted

Requested by @spot-of-bother

Pairing:  Hiromu Takahashi/FC

Category:   Angsty

Warnings:  None  

32.          “You can’t escape my affection” Summer Bummer – Lana Del Rey

You had broken up almost two years ago and you still couldn’t get over him.   Hiromu Takahashi was in your blood and you couldn’t get him out.   Despite it being you who had broken it off with him, it seemed like you had taken the separation much harder than him.   You wanted him back.   The longer you were apart, the more you thought you had made a mistake in dumping him.   Leaving him was the worst decision you had ever made.  

When you crossed paths he always had a ready smile, that one that hits you right in the stomach.  The one he knows drives you wild.   Hiromu was always a game player, and if he had information to use against you, you could be damn sure he was going to.  

It’s never too late

To leave if you wanna leave

Or to stay if you wanna stay

When you had broken it off, you had been devastated by his indifferent shrug. You can stay or you can go was what he had told you.   As if it didn’t really matter one way or another to him.  Like you were just a place holder.  

After walking away you analyzed your relationship and realized it had always been you who moved things along.   You had asked him out on the first date.  Had made the move to make you exclusive.  Prodded him into cohabitation.  Hiromu never initiated anything besides sex.   No wonder it was so easy for him to walk away.  You were much more invested in your relationship than he was.   Looking back you wondered if he agreed with you just to make things easier on him.   Hiromu was too wrapped in his own world to deal with disharmony at home.  

And that hurt you.   It hurt you so badly to realize he probably never loved you.  And it drove you absolutely insane that he was no worse the wear from your parting while you just drifted along, desperate for any contact with him.   With his knowing smile you were sure he knew your struggles.  He knew your job didn’t require you to be where he was as often as you were.  

I got a feeling in my bones

Can’t get you out of my veins

You can’t escape my affection

Wrap you up in my daisy chains

Today there was something different with Hiromu.  You had noticed it gradually over the year since he had joined the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable.   He had become more comfortable in his own skin, more confident and embracing his eccentricities.  As if he had found people who accepted him for how he was and didn’t try to change him.   You had been nervous when you had heard he had joined up with the ragtag group.  Everyone knew the rumors about the group and while Hiromu definitely had his assholeish manipulative tendencies you were worried he would be influenced by them.   As time was passing though you saw just how well he fit in with them.   They weren’t influencing him, just bringing out what was already there.  And that saddened you because you realized your hopes of reuniting with Hiromu were probably slipping away.  

That was why it was with trepidation rather than anticipation you approached the table he was sitting at with his Los Ingobernables brethren when he had beckoned you.   You wouldn’t deny the call though, the first real interaction he had given you in months.  

“Sit, sit,” He motioned to the empty seat on the table bench in between Bushi and Evil.   You hesitantly slid onto the offered seat.  You didn’t know any of these guys, had never interacted with them prior to this moment, and honestly you were kind of terrified as you sat surrounded by predators.   Your eyes flicked from Hiromu to where the leader Tetsuya Naito sat observing you from under the brim of his trademark black hat then to Seiya Sanada on Hiromu’s left; wearing a smile that could only be described as shark like.  

White lies and black beaches

Miles in between us

Is this love or lust or some game on repeat?

It’s like making me crazy

You startled when Evil slung his heavy arm over your shoulders giving you a challenging grin when you looked at him trying unsuccessfully to shrug him off. 

“Don’t be rude.  Evil’s not hurting you.”  Hiromu chastised you with a smirk as he noted your efforts.  

“Yet.”  You thought you heard Bushi mutter next to you, head jerking to peer at him only to find him staring back with an absolutely straight face.  

"Focus on me.”  Hiromu said. “I think I’m starting to get offended you are paying more attentions to my brothers than me.”  He pouted.  “Do you want them more than me?”  

That brought your attention right back to Hiromu, your head shaking frantically.

“Then stop lusting after them and pay attention.”   Hiromu said mockingly.  

“I’m not….”  You protested

“Shut up.”  Hiromu said. “I don’t need you telling me what you were doing.  I can see.”   Your mouth slammed closed knowing whatever you said was only going to be turned around.  You hoped Hiro didn’t seriously believe you were lusting after his teammates.  

“You dumped me.  Now you won’t leave me alone.”  Hiromu said leaning back in his chair as he spoke.  “Everywhere I turn, there you are.  I know you don’t have business here.  So tell me; why are you always watching me?”  

“I made a mistake.” You admitted.  “I thought I was better off without you.   It didn’t take me long to figure out I can’t move on from you.” You felt really uncomfortable having this conversation with his cohorts surrounding you, especially as Evil had yet to remove his arm, occasionally squeezing you just so you wouldn’t forget he was there.   As if you could.  

“You broke my heart.”  Hiromu said bluntly, lip turned up in a smirk at his blatant lie.  

“I did not!”  You whisper shouted angrily.  “You didn’t give two shits if I stayed or left.”  

Hiromu gave a lazy shrug, staring back at you with a look of contemplation, his lips pursing out as he seemed to be in deep thought.  

“Room 1322 tonight.  I’ll give you a chance to win me back.” He finally declared throwing a hotel room card down on the table before rising.   You looked from him to the key as all five of them walked away, wondering just what you would be getting yourself into if you took that offer.  

[ghostofviperwrites]

Games You Play

Pairing:  Taka Michinoku/FC; Los Ingobernables

Category:  Suggestive

Warnings:  None

Word Count:  2395

So this is one I had an idea for and have been working on, but couldn’t ever get it to go where I wanted it to.  So I’m giving up and posting it as is because I’m tired of looking at it.

 You weren’t looking forward to this and that was an understatement if ever there was one. This was not what you did, but you were doing a favor so you would suck it up.  The President of New Japan had been exceedingly forthright with you and who you would be dealing with.  To you it seemed like overkill to pay you as much money as they were simply to make sure five men showed up to their scheduled sensitivity training.  Which by the accounts you had been told they definitely needed it.  Then again you probably could use a few sessions yourself.  But you didn’t work for New Japan and weren’t in the public eye so fuck anyone who had a problem with your attitude. 

From what you had been told they had managed to evade five scheduled sessions over the past two weeks.  The company was getting tired of paying for a service that wasn’t being used.   You were rather amused by their excuses:  their rental car broke down, the alarm clock broke, they all had food poisoning, they got trapped in their hotel room, to your personal favorite that they had watched a sad movie and were too emotionally distraught to attend. 

When you knocked on the door to the suite housing Los Ingobernables de Japon you were prepared for their antics.  If it was up to you, you would have shown up unannounced at their door.  But New Japan didn’t want to spring a surprise on their stars and had let them know someone was coming to escort them.  Judging by their reaction when you entered the suite, the company hadn’t prepared them for you.   You hid the smile that wanted to form as you felt the atmosphere in the room change as the five took their time looking you over. 

“Car’s waiting out front.  Let’s go.”  You said moving towards the door, stopping as Sanada blocked your path.   Arching a brow you stared up at him.  “Move it handsome.  We’ve got training to get to.” 

“Instead of some boring class, I’m sure we could come up with something much more enjoyable to do.”  Sanada said stepping into your personal space, his chest brushing against yours as he raised a hand and drew his fingers down your cheek.  You weren’t going to lie and say it didn’t make you tingle.  The man was gorgeous, there was no denying that.  You felt a figure stepping up behind you, their groin pressing into your ass trapping you between the two.  Seeing a hint of red out of the corner of your eye you gathered it was Hiromu who had come up behind you.  His hands ghosted over your sides coming to rest lightly on your hips as Sanada cupped your cheek and brought his head down, his lips ghosting over yours. 

When his lips pressed to yours there was no way you weren’t granting him entrance, his tongue stroking yours as Hiromu pushed aside your hair and pressed a kiss to your neck.  You moaned into the kiss, breaking from Sanada’s lips and kissing along his jaw to his ear, rising on your toes to reach.  Flicking out your tongue your hands grasped his shoulders and you put your lips on his ear.

“Get in the fucking car.”  You said giving him a sharp bite on the ear that had him gasping in pain as you slipped out from between the two men  and walked out of the hotel room.  As expected the five of them caught up to you before you made the elevator, Sanada glaring daggers at you as he rubbed at his reddened ear lobe.

“Oh stop being a pussy.’  You told him with a roll of your eyes.  “It’s just a little love bite.” 

Once in the car they ignored you, communicating via text messages to each other as you drove while tossing the occasional dirty look at you.   Poor boys not used to someone turning them down, you thought flashing Naito a smile as you caught his eye in the rear view mirror.  Pulling into the parking lot where the therapist offices were housed you pulled into a space and waited impatiently as they took their sweet time getting out. 

“This is stupid.” Evil grumbled with a sneer at the building.  ��Why are we wasting our time with this?” 

“Look, my job is to get you here and in that damn room.  What you do in there I couldn’t give a flying fuck.”  You told them leading them into the office building.   “Fuck the therapist for all I care.  Just get in that room, stay there for the allotted time and then I’ll take you back to hotel where you can do whatever your heart desires.”

“And if we want to do you?” Naito asked as your group boarded the elevator. 

“I’m not on the menu.”  You said flatly. 

“Why not?  You seemed to enjoy what Hiromu and Sanada were doing with you. Imagine what all five of us could do to you.”  Bushi asked.  You chuckled and nodded your head in agreement with his words. You could imagine they would make you see stars.  But you already had a man that did that for you. 

“I’m not making any complaints.”  You said.  “But I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate further misbehaving on my part.” The mention of a boyfriend gave them a moment’s pause, given the way your introduction had gone.

“Would he appreciate the way you were sucking on my tongue?”  Sanada asked wryly. 

“I’m sure he’s gonna have something to say about it.” You admitted, wincing as you imagined just how well that was going to go over.  He understood your job and was usually rather laid back about it.  The flirting and little physical stuff didn’t normally bother him.  But this, with these men, this was not going to please him. Not at all.  Especially since the physical stuff hadn’t been the least bit necessary. 

“So since you’re already in trouble, you might as well go all out.” Hiromu said flashing you a naughty smile and making you laugh. 

“I’m not going to fuck you.   Any of you.”  You said pointedly.  “Now get your asses in that room and quit trying to get in my panties.”  

You took a seat in the waiting room after they sullenly filed into the therapy room.   It only took about five minutes for the first one to come wandering out, Bushi pulling up short as he saw you sitting in the waiting area and staring at him. 

“Going somewhere Bushi?”  You asked with a smile as his shoulders slumped. Looking around he pointed towards the restrooms.    

“I’ve gotta take a piss.”  He said heading towards the bathroom.   After three minutes you rose and pushed open the bathroom door, glaring at Bushi who was sitting on the counter on his phone. 

“Get in there.  Now.”  You said holding the door open as he shuffled past cursing you under his breath.  

As soon as he was once again safely ensconced inside the room you fell back into your chair.  You weren’t looking forward to dealing with them at the end of this two hour session.  You could only imagine how pleasant their moods were going to be.  

After about half an hour boredom sat in.  Boredom usually resulted in you getting yourself in trouble.  It was a nasty habit, but one you were in no hurry to kick.  Because trouble was always so much fun.  Pulling out your phone you pulled up your messages and selected your boyfriend’s name.

Y/N:       You didn’t tell me Sanada was such a good kisser

You smirked as the message indicated read with no forthcoming response as you composed the next message.

                Y/N:       Or that Hiromu’s lips would feel so good on my neck

Once again your message was read with no response.  You drug your bottom lip through your teeth as you tried to think of what you could tell him that would really get under his skin.  

                Y/N:       How mad would you be if Hiromu left a mark?

A satisfied grin lit up your face as the dots appeared indicating he was preparing a response. 

                BF:          That’s enough

It was amazing that two simple words could send shivers of desire through your entire body.   You could imagine the angry set of his lips, the tenseness in his jaw as he formulated those two words.  Glancing at the time on your phone you groaned as it seemed like time was standing still.  You just wanted LIJ to finish this session and drop them off so you could get back to your man.  Your lips pursed as you contemplated sending a final message.  He was already mad, but was it the kind of mad you were aiming for?   Only one way to ensure you got what you were looking for.   You were going to have a push a bit more. 

After typing out a message you stared at it for almost five minutes, gnawing on your lip before you bit the bullet and hit send.  You were 99% sure you were going to regret sending that but it was too late now.   Sure enough your phone lit up as his call came in.  

“Oh my dear sweet love. “  He chuckled without humor when you answered.  “You are pissing me the fuck off now.”  As it always did that voice resonated deep inside and you fidgeted in your seat, feeling that familiar throb beginning.  “I told you to stop, but you just have to keep pushing don’t you?”  

“I’m sorry,” You said trying to interject contriteness in your tone, earning a snort from the other end of the line.

“No you’re not.  This is exactly what you wanted to happen.”  He said.  “Maybe next time you’ll be careful what you wish for.”  He hung up on you without another word and you slowly lowered your phone, heart pounding as you wondered just what he had in store for you.  It was going to drive you insane waiting this last hour for them to finish.   Finally, after what seemed like an eternity LIJ’s session ended and they hurried from the room as if it was on fire. 

This time it was you who was quiet on the drive to the hotel as the guys bitched about their session the entire ride seeming personally affronted at the therapist’s attempts to straighten them out.   Hopefully New Japan got the hint that they weren’t going to cooperate no matter how many times they were forced to go.   Would save you from babysitting duty. 

The second you entered the hotel lobby you only had eyes for him.  But being who you were, you couldn’t help but get a last little dig in as he watched you from the chair by the elevators. 

“Boys, this is where our time ends.”  You said, hiding a smile as Sanada stepped close.  He was too easy.  You let him put his hand on your hip, feeling eyes boring into your back as he leaned down whispering some rather scandalous things in your ear hand resting on the curve of your waist. 

“Enticing as that sounds pretty boy, I’m gonna pass on your offer.”  You removed his hand and turned to stroll towards your waiting man.   “But thanks for the suggestions, I think I might borrow them tonight.” 

A wide smile filled your face, one of the rare genuine smiles you actually wore.  The one that was only for him.   You could feel the tingle between your thighs as he rose from the chair, anger lighting his eyes. He was still angry.  Good.

“Hi baby,” You greeted Taka Michinoku as he pulled you into his arms, his fingers resting in the exact spot Sanada had just touched, the fingers digging in and making you moan.  “I missed you.”

“Did you?” Taka asked wryly.  “You seemed to be enjoying yourself quite nicely with Los Ingos.  Maybe I should just let them borrow you for the night.”  You pouted pushing yourself into his body.

“But I don’t want to play with them.  I want to play with you.”  You said standing on your tip toes to nip at his pouting lip. 

“If you didn’t want to play with them, how come you’re letting them touch what’s mine?”  He asked, backing you into the wall beside the elevator.  Taka grabbed your chin and moved your head from side to side examining your neck.  “I don’t see any marks.”  He said with a small smile. 

“Not visible ones at least.”   You said cheekily. “Maybe you should check me.” 

After calling the elevator Taka pushed you into the back corner of the elevator, lifting you up to sit on the railing ignoring LIJ as they piled in after you.   His lips met yours as your hands moved to his shoulders pulling him closer to you.

“Jesus, you gonna fuck her in the elevator?” Bushi snapped making Taka pull away from your mouth and smirk over his shoulder at him.

“Thinking about it.  Give you guys a look at what you wish you could have.”  Taka taunted.

“Or you can think about how she’s all worked up because of the way I kissed her.”  Sanada retorted. “She tell you about that?” 

“She did.” Taka confirmed turning his attention back to you and pecking your lips.  “I hope you realize she just used you to get to me.  You’re not the first.  Won’t be the last. Just a means to an end.”  You grinned and shrugged unrepentantly.  You liked to play games and Taka liked to punish you for them.  It was win win as far as you were concerned. 

The elevator dinged signaling the arrival on your floor.  Pulling you after him Taka pushed past LIJ with a cocky smirk throwing the middle finger up as the doors closed on them. 

“Now my dear, there’s the matter of your misbehavior to attend to.”  He said as your hotel room door shut behind you.  

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, DE! You’ve been accepted for the role of SEBASTIAN with an FC change to BRANT DAUGHERTY. Admin Rosey: I always imagined Santino as the softest marhsmallow of them all. But you showed me the iron will of his caring, the protective nature that’s there. In the interview, the voice you gave him provided the perfect amount of hesitance before each answer and the light note of despondance that seems to cover it all. De, you provided a whole other side to Sebastian that makes him infinitely more interesting and infinitely more lovable. I can’t wait for you to bring him to life! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | De

Age | 27

Preferred Pronouns | She/Her

Activity Level | About the same as I am right now. Things are gonna get a little hectic in the coming weeks because I have three different techs happening on three different weekends (I know, what the heck De) but It’ll be fine. Because my weekdays are still pretty open.

Timezone | CST

Current/Past RP Accounts | Current: @justtotallystab

In Character

Character | Sebastian (FC Change - Brant Daugherty, please!)

What drew you to this character? |  I mean, I’m always a sucker for sibling relationships, and the one between Valentina and Santino is just G R E A T. They’ve been by each other’s sides since birth, and there is no one more important to Santino than Valentina. She is his sister, his other half. The yang, to his yin, and I’m absolutely in love with that dynamic, and what all could happen between them. Because there could be the chance of them leaving, of Santino finally finding a way to escape the Montague name–but what if Valentina doesn’t want to go? There are so many different things that can be done with him, and I’m really interested to see where he can go–and whether he’ll survive them all.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

1) Love. If there’s one thing that can both bolster a person, and rip them apart, it’s love. Santino has spent so much of his life focused on Valentina’s well-being and survival, he’s never allowed himself to love anyone but her, but I want him to experience that. To lose himself in another person, and find someone else to fight for, besides his twin and himself, and inevitably what the fallout of that love might be. It could be the best thing to ever happen to him–or the worst, and I’d love to explore that. Santino has so much of himself to give, and the Montagues have only ever seen one aspect to him, and that can be used to his advantage, or be his downfall.

2) Labor. I mean, what’s more interesting and exciting than finding that one, final thing, that turns the ever hopeful into the despondent? I’d really love to find that thing that causes Santino to lose all of the hope that he’s carried with him since birth. Nothing has been able to scrape it away from his very marrow, not the death of his parents, or the streets of Verona, not even being the Montagues’ soldier has taken that away from him, and I really want to find it. I want to find what makes that last flicker of hope extinguish in his chest, so that Santino can see what he’s really made of. Will that loss of hope cause him to completely fall apart and lose touch with what makes him him? Or will it cause him to break down the pieces of himself and build it back up into something bigger, and stronger?

3) Loss. Valentina has not only adjusted easily to being a soldier, but she is thriving. Where one part of him is happy for her, glad to see her taken care of and kept safe, there is a part of him that despairs at seeing her lose herself in something he never wanted for her. He’s tried his hardest to keep the darker parts of their life from her, but here she was, in the thick of it, and becoming something to fear. There are times when he’ll look at her, and almost not recognize the other half of himself, and that fear will come back tenfold, shivering down his spine. There are many things that Santino is willing to do to survive in this world, but losing Valentina is not something he think he ever could, and he will do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen. Whether its take on the more dirty missions that might’ve ended in her lap to keep her from the carnage, or simply stick to her side so hard she has no choice but to stay with him. He is willing to do anything and everything to keep his sister by his side, and that just might be the thing that drives the final nail in the coffin and sends her far, far away.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | I feel the same as with Boris. If there’s a good reason for it, and it helps move the plot along I’d be relatively okay with it. But I’m not okay with just a random death that I have no say in <3

In Depth

In-Character Interview:

“I know this probably isn’t–” He cuts himself off with a quick snap of a grin that fades easily back into the rather bland, yet affable, expression he typically wears. “Okay, if I tell you, this stays between us, alright?” He leans forward, every inch of him practically thrumming with the intensity that comes from growing up, and surviving, on the streets, but there was none of that in his face. Nothing but that bland look, and the curve of an almost-grin at the corner of his lips to belie the humor underneath. “Twelfth Night, okay?” He waves a hand to keep the interview from speaking, “I know, I know. Really, whatever you’re gonna say is something I’ve probably heard a thousand times, already. ‘What’s a guy like me, doin’ in a place like that?, yeah?.” Santino shrugs away any comment they might’ve made, and lets his head tilt to the side, “I just like looking at the pictures…seeing places I’ll never go, all that history. I just…” He looks away, his voice softer than before, “Like it…”

“Oh, huh…I guess.” Santino frowns for a second as he tilts his head back to survey the ceiling, searching through the hours of the day he’d just had, and simply shrugs. “I make coffee and pastries. That’s about it.” Or, at least, that’s how it appears to anyone that isn’t on either of the Families. The reality starts with Santino’s scarred knuckles, and ends with blood splattered against the curve of his cheek. He’s big, bigger than most, and the Montagues have found the best way to take advantage of that side of him–while disregarding most of the things that he’d found himself to excel at, before that one fateful night signed both of their death warrants. They only saw the scars, and the strength, and the stature, and refused to acknowledge the quiet soul underneath all of that who has a talent for quick wit, and even quicker fingers. He is just as much a weapon as his twin, only…the longer they worked for the Montagues, the less she seemed to be as bothered by it all. Not like him.

Santino is silent, and still, for perhaps the first time the entire conversation, and its only then that the interviewer seems to take notice of how much he moves. Whether its the tap of a finger against the curve of his knee, or the way his eyes never settle on one place for too long, he’s not the quietest they’ve ever seen him. He’s certainly spent a few moments in quiet contemplation, but it’s the first time there’s been such an absence of anything around him, and they can’t help but wonder what changed. For a moment the interviewer believes they’ve gone too far, found the thing that the usually talkative man will refuse to answer, and in some way, they’re right. Between one blink and the next, that stillness is gone, the tapping of his heel against the leg’s chair creates a soft murmur between them, and the interviewer feels like they’ve missed out on something tremendous as he tilts his head to the side with an almost too-soft smile, “What was the question?”

“There’s a lot that’s been asked of me lately that hasn’t been the…easiest.” It was easier when it had been just Valentina and Santino against the world. When all he needed to worry about was keeping her safe, and the two of them fed, he could forgive himself for the things he did to survive. He may like to admit it, but he has done many, many things that would’ve made lesser men cower and scream, but all in the name of keeping Valentina safe and warm and full, but now–now they have shelter, they have security, and they have food. And all Santino has to do for it–is kill. He is a conman at heart. Well-versed in words, and actions, and the quick wit that has kept him alive and moving while his mark left with no idea their pockets were now empty. That’s not to say he hasn’t earned his own fair share of scars, but they are nothing like what he carries no, both on his body, and in his mind. here might’ve been a time where things could’ve been different. Where the twins had grown up with a loving pair of parents, where they could’ve gone on to get an education, and a career that left them with a sense of safety and security, but not anymore. Not when the name Montague hung around his neck like the ever tightening noose simply waiting for him to take the wrong step. “I’ve never really liked cleanup duty.”

“What’s there to think about? I’m a Montague, that’s all that matters.” And yet Santino, at the heart of it all, is a Gallo. He doesn’t want to be a Montague, or a Capulet, or anything else. All he wants is to have a life where he and his sister are happy, and healthy, and free–but that can’t happen anymore. They’re trapped, just as simply as they are ‘saved’. He’s heard stories of people leaving the Montague family, or even the Capulets, but not without great loss–and most aren’t even heard from again. Santino doesn’t want that for Valentina, doesn’t want to risk her being hurt because of something he did, again. So he stays, and he follows orders, and he watches over the two of them, time and time again, forced to watch as Valentina throws herself into the violence like a moth to a flame, while he’s forced to wait and see if she’ll survive, or become another casualty in the long line of soldiers before them.

Extras:

HC: Santino is the older twin, but no one would ever know it. Valentina has always been the one to act ‘older’, to be the protector, at least when they are out in public, and Santino is happy to indulge her. He’s the silent watcher, the protector from the shadows who always makes sure that she is the first one fed, and to bed. Uncaring that he’ll go hungry more often than not to make sure that she stays strong, and healthy and happy. So if she likes to huff, and puff, and play the ‘older sibling’ card, he’s happy to let her, because he knows the truth: That’s he’s been watching over her, since the second she was born.

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