#if that's the case I'll ask here

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Hey now, Let her cook!

[volann]

Everyone in tgcf is a foil character

Part 3: Ghost city

(pt 1; pt 2; pt 4)

Thanks to the Internet Archive I can now use quotes from the official English translation, yay! Also for the most part this isn’t analysing foil characters, you can consider this my attempt to remember how to write this thing, hopefully the next one will be more on theme. I planned to also include Fangxin guoshi arc here, but Tumblr said the post is too long, so it's in part 4, which leaves this part without any characters, sorry

The Ghost city arc mostly introduces characters (well, Wind Master did appear before, but not for a long time, and it’s technically the first time we see Hua Cheng as Hua Cheng) and the information in it isn’t  enough to write about anyone. So the things I’ll discuss in this part are the details of the worldbuilding and the location itself that connect to the main themes of the story. I mean technically it’s the same as finding foil characters, right? All I’m doing is looking for similar characteristics… It makes sense in my head.

Firstly, the whole thing with Shi Qingxuan and Ling Wen being worshiped as a woman and a man respectively is brought up in ch 35 of web serialization:

“You were whatever people believed you to be. Appearances could be a million miles off the mark from the real thing, and people would still see what they wanted to see.”

While this is said about worshiped gods in particular, it also connects to the fact that many characters are not what the public thinks they are and many legends don’t represent the truth, this applies to both Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. I won’t go into more details and examples since there were some already in the previous parts and will definitely be in the future.

Secondly, the Gambler’s Den shows the concept of exchanging people’s lives, present in many parts of the book (let’s use Banyue as an example since I already analysed it) quite literally. Even though gambling doesn’t work like that, the people still bet something that’s of the same value as the thing they want, and they still decide that the thing they want is more important to them. And people’s lives can be on both sides of this not-exactly-exchange. So in the end the people betting are deciding what a certain person’s life is worth.

Thirdly, there’s a man who bets years of his daughter’s life and the fate of her marriage. Here’s a part of his description:

Although he was a living human, he resembled a ghost more than any of the ghosts present.

That reinforces the idea that it doesn’t matter whether you are a ghost, a god or a human. Also his bet is a perfect example for my previous point.

That’s all I wanted to say about the Ghost city, so. Fangxin guoshi arc. As I said in the beginning, it's in a different post, which makes this part even more weird than it was before splitting it into two.

[hansoeii]

I'll be at Dokomi next weekend! ✨ Booth 3L70!

Here's my catalogue of all the stuff I'll have to offer! Excited to meet you there!

[starflungwaddledee]

Song quiery/request: Starstruck and Meta? o:

starstruck and meta knight (gen... ish?) ; liar by the Arcadian Wild

i sense deception to come, honestly, truth and i are never one coz i am the lying man, and i have made you my next victim oh, i need you to see through my act, to tell me i'm wrong, to take off the mask or else i'll be left in the lie, and i'll deceive my way straight to demise

[azaracyy]

a bit late this card may be, but the sender sends you their best regards for the new year!

[dangerousdan-dan]

I don't understand your hatred for Jason Todd. You and your takes about him are disgusting

Look what I found while I was searching for all the fucks I do not give :)

[coollyinterferes]

The unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching begins to fill the air. Whoever is coming seems to have brought some company along…

They are getting closer… and closer… and closer…

…and closer…

……until..................

"Goooooood evenin'!!" Comes the loud greeting from a certain blond man. A big smile on his face and all.

"We beg your pardon for our prolonged absence. It was completely beyond our control..." Then adds the gentleman standing by his side, apologizing on behalf of both, offering a genuine smile along with the apology.

"...BUT! We're back!" And hopefully for good this time…

[angeart]

:o are we allowed to ask about Mr Beak?? Because I have been dying to but I figured it was for Future Rambles so I've been holding back.

Especially because both you and Link drew Grian with his wings out, no cloak, and Grian actually using his wings for a smol hug in your bit.

-🎀

yes you're allowed! it is for future rambles, but we made a concession if you promise you'll still read the rambles as well when they come out! :D

mr beak gets acquired in vex arc, part titled "a night for living". let me take you through Never Before Seen basics! just a quick little rundown :3

grian and scar get accepted adopted into a vex commune! which is a pretty safe place considering that it's full of vexes who are seen as warriors. it's settled in the forest, in what used to be a hunting village. (it was taken over.)

now i won't say exactly how things go, but- there's definitely an adjustment period! especially since grian is an avian in a place filled with only vexes, and scar is... well, not a typical vex!

but they settle in. and they start to tentatively have some security. their own walls, and a bed! there's a LOT to say about the whole vex arc, and i can very easily be swayed, but i'll skip to mr beak. (under the cut because this is getting rambly <3 expect RP snippets too)

there's a big night at the vex commune, one they meticulously prepare for. make sure there's no hunters anywhere nearby, brew homemade alcohol, etc. they make a huge bonfire, set up various games (prizes are mostly more alcohol, lol. special bottles of types from rare fruits and stuff, with a strip of fabric/ribbon tied to them to mark them as the victory bottles) and just... go wild!

it's during this night when scar and grian challenge two other vexes (frens???? 👀) to a game of (drunk) archery. scar pretends he can barely hold a bow. it's very funny when he shoots a bulls eye, trust me.

scar kind of jokingly asks if there are other prizes - like big stuffed bears, for example. and once he wins, the best out of three shots, he again jokingly says he'll take the bear as his prize. and grian joins in, asking for the bear!

(mini rp bit!!)

Excitedly and triumphantly, Scar loops his arms around Grian as well, lower and more securely wound, and lifts, spinning him around like a loon just because he wants to and he can. “The man wants a bear!!” he announces to the world, boisterous and goofy.

anywayyy... yeah, no, the vexes don't have a stuffed bear. but there's an idea. and someone digs out a discarded plush from somewhere.

it's a chicken.

kane is meant to hand it over, but... he's very hesitant. and he wouldn't be if it was a couple of weeks ago, but! he's been learning! about avians and things that upset grian. about how sensitive he is about other birds or bird-like things.

uncharacteristically hesitant, he calls scar over first, trusting scar's judgement on these things much more than himself.

aaand. what if i throw more rp snippets at u? 👀👀👀👀 (1,7k words because my hand slipped— enjoy :D)

-

SCAR

Kane waits until he's sure Scar's body and wings block Grian's view, and then he tentatively unfurls his own wing, showing the worn plush toy in his arms: a pale brown chicken, a little clumpy, but soft-looking. Squishable. "We have... this," he presents, a bit flatly, waiting for reaction.

It’s unfortunate, really, because in any other circumstance Scar would not hesitate to give the awkward little chicken to Grian. It’s so adorably lumpy, and he wants to squeeze it immediately. 

But… 

“Let me see,” Scar says, taking it from Kane. He appreciates the hesitance now. Despite claiming victory during their previous dispute over insensitivity, Kane clearly cares to get this right, and it warms Scar’s heart to no end.

Kane keeps the doll hidden as he passes it over to Scar, who analyzes it carefully, squeezing at the center and feeling the material. It’s soft, not at all feathered, and the insides seem to be cotton, possibly with beads interspersed for weightiness. 

But it’s still a bird.

Scar looks to meet Kane’s gaze, both of them uncertain, but Scar sighs and offers a weak smile. “You’re a good man, Kane,” Scar declares, nodding appreciatively at him. 

Ultimately, it should be up to Grian if he wants this. Scar can look out for potential triggers, but it’s not his place to decide for him. 

Scar can’t protect him from everything. Shouldn’t either.

(Plus, it is cute. Scar hopes that fact overwrites any potential anxieties.)

Scar turns around, offering the plushie over to Grian with that same timid smile. “What do you think, G?”

-

GRIAN

nico's murmuring things to grian, praising his and scar's aim, wanting to know where they've learned to shoot like that. it distracts grian sufficiently, thrown off and glancing at the targets where someone was collecting their arrows now so they could keep playing.

"we... had a lot of practice," grian replies, unsure how to phrase it any better. to say that they didn't need to worry about running out of arrows—or lives—ever was something too bewildering to put out there. "it's just been a while," he adds, grimacing at where a vex was trying to climb a tree to reach the arrow grian shot first. 

nico laughs, amused but bright and kind. "well, you know. as long as you don't lose the arrows, you guys can come here and shoot at the targets anytime."

grian perks up at that, but before he can answer, scar's turning to him and offering something to him.

grian's gaze lands on the bird-like heap in scar's hands, and his head short-circuits.

bird.

it's a bird.

memories of [REDACTED] slam into him, and he swallows thickly, rebooting. 

a bird.

this world doesn't have birds. but here one is, silly-looking and soft, offered to grian to hold. (to cherish. to protect. to keep.)

with gaze solidly focused on the toy, grian hears himself try to joke. "i think that's not a bear."

kane huffs, although there's something tentatively relieved in the sound, possibly at the lack of a more outward freak out on grian's part. "i told you we don't have bears."

grian's only half-listening. his chest feels askew and tingly, wings semi flared out, but he's taking a step forward and reaching out his hands for the plushie.

-

SCAR

Scar is about to say they don’t have to take it. They could easily accept one of the prize bottles. He could even make a show of tying the decorative ribbon on one of Grian’s fingers as a silly romantic callback.

But Grian is reaching out and Scar doesn’t have it in his heart to deny him. He offers the toy to him gingerly, still nervous, but willing. 

“Not a bear, but… look at its little beard!” Scar tries, letting his index finger fiddle with the red tufts of fabric as he pulls away. “…do you like it?”

-

GRIAN

wordlessly, grian takes it, holds it out, feels its weight settle in his hands. his fingers squeeze lightly, testing it out, feeling its softness. (it's not made of feathers. not feathers.)

some tightly held knot in grian's chest unspools, and he finds himself laughing a little unsteadily at scar's silly gesture.

his hands flap the chicken's wings, and unthinkingly, grian's own wings mirror the motion. there's a part of grian's brain that's happy at this, already growing attached, and it's probably weird, for a toy to trigger instincts that whisper flock against the nape of his neck, but the affection and protectiveness rise up in him anyway.

he pulls the chicken tightly to his chest, his gaze flicking up, meeting first scar's eyes and then swivelling to kane's. "... i can keep this?" he asks, a bit shyly, even as his hold signals that he would not let go even if he was told no.

-

SCAR

Scar’s heart swells again at the sight of Grian flapping the doll’s little wings, and gosh it’s unfairly adorable when he does the same with his own wings. Scar grins, leaning back into Grian’s space as he turns to regard Kane. 

“We’re taking this,” Scar declares.

Kane scoffs, cheeks heating up as he takes mostly fake offense. “As if I’d take it back, come on!” And then he’s grinning as well, clearly satisfied that the prize went over well, all sourness from the competition completely faded away. “You won it fair and square, mister liar.”

“Sober liar,” Nico tacks on, earning a bark of laughter from his mate.

“Hey, I’m getting there, I’m getting there!” Scar insists, leaning down to reclaim his and Grian’s bottles. He hands Grian’s back to him with a bright smile. “…It’s precious.”

-

GRIAN

grian instantly slots himself next to scar as he returns to his side, still clutching the bird tightly. 

"mister sober liar," he repeats teasingly at scar, nudging him a little and giving him a big, bright grin.

no matter how the others want to spin it, the fact is that they did win, and scar did insist on a prize for grian. (and man, the way his hands were capable with the bow is hot. although it's not something grian'd admit out loud.) he's grateful for it, a bit of playful games and a reward at the end of it, presented with such care. 

with boundless affection, grian leans against him and presses his wing against scar's lower back, under his vex wings, in a little squeeze. hoping his thanks translates. 

he untangles one hand from the chicken only to reach for the bottle, and he lets it clink against scar's. "cheers, to our victory." 

nico's ushering them a little bit to the side, to make space for new contestants, while kane lifts his own drink, cheerfully joining in with drinking. 

"there's more games to play, if you want," nico remarks with a chuckle, then adds: "but no more non-bears to win."

grian glances at him. "what about yes-bears?"

kane sputters a laugh, almost choking on his drink.

nico offers a grin instead, with a small chuckle. "none of those either, i'm afraid."

"bottles, mostly," kane says all too happily. "but some games have donation piles and if you win, you can pick something someone else left behind." he shrugs a little, clearly much more interested in the drinks the vexes worked so hard to make. "mostly useless stuff. wood carvings, dull daggers, scraps of clothes, chipped mugs. things people found and don't have use for, or that they don't want anymore."

-

SCAR

“What you’re saying is we get to thrift shop for prizes?” Scar asks excitedly, wings fluttering before one slots over Grian’s head in a purposely goofy manner. “Whatcha say, G-man? More games? Want to see how red in the face Kane can get if he keeps losing?”

“Hey!” Kane shouts, grabbing at Scar to try to dig his fist into the top of his head playfully. Scar unfortunately allows it, not willing to give up his spot next to Grian and how his wing is tucked under him so tenderly. But he laughs at the abuse, clearly unbothered.

-

GRIAN

grian ducks a little at the wing over him, but then he straightens up, chirping and meeting it. he has his prize chicken in one hand, still pressed to his chest, and a bottle in the other, wing still slung across scar's lower back in a casual, if a little clingy way.

"more games!" he cheers, toothily looking over kane and nico. "so what's next, fellas? what do you want to be beaten at this time?"

nico's chuckling, lips curved in a smile, taking this for friendly jest, but kane's getting riled up. his tail swishes aggressively. "you can't thrift prizes if you don't win first," he accuses.

"what game?" grian presses. "what do you think you have a chance at?"

it's a cheeky jab, and grian's delighted as he sees it work. 

"sparring!" kane huffs out, clearly ready to tackle them until he can prove his dominance or something.

"or obstacle course," nico offers as a counter argument.

"sparring!" kane repeats, insistent, shooting his mate a glare. "we win at this one!" 

-

SCAR

Scar yawns exaggeratedly. “Drunk sparring? Sounds like a vex slapping fest to me.” He waves his hand with the bottle dismissively at that, eyeing Grian as he does. Then he takes a large sip of his drink and flares out his free wing. “What kind of obstacle course we talkin’?”

Both sound less fun than archery to Scar, but he has a feeling the obstacle course would be preferable to Grian. Sparring just sounds like an invitation to get hurt.

-

GRIAN

grian is honestly glad scar is steering this away from a fight competition, but kane deflates, looking like he was just betrayed. "you don't want to spar?" his ears flick, then he crosses his arms, upset. "it's 'coz you know you'd lose. you're just picking what you're secretly good at!"

"i dunno, you could've been better at it," grian brushes him off, referencing kane's archery skill in a way that makes kane sputter.

"the obstacle course," nico takes charge, starting to walk in a more solid direction, "has many things. some you get under, some you get over. gliding is allowed." he eyes grian. "outright flying might be considered as cheating."

grian gasps dramatically, his wing losing connection to scar only to flap in playful offense. "i'd never!" and honestly, it's hard to think of himself actively flying, so it's not exactly wrong. it's not just theatrics, but they make it easier to bear, to hide behind.

---

i was gonna stop earlier but figured maybe you'd like to see the banter :3 maybe you'd like to see the new characters and these dynamics. (they're all tipsy at this point and scar and grian have been living here for a while, just to be clear.)

other big things happen that night besides winning mr beak :3 just sayin'

vex arc is fun <33

[xxplastic-cubexx]

im not exaggerating when i say ive been staring at your newest twitter art for the past twenty minutes. i feel ill Why can i hear them

the thigh size difference, the codpiece, charles drooling and Shaking that man is Gone, mags' smug smile and uh. his uhm . Hes HUGE..... charles How do you take that thing and live to tell the tale... and mags' lil speech bubble, what filth could he be sayin..... much to think about, i think i hauve covid, THEY LOOK SO GOOD, apologies to your bro's sneakers but i for one am very happy with this outcome :3 as always thank you so much for your service 🫡🫡

thank you for the review on my doodles today!!!!! i looked deep into my soul and let it do the rest......

[yeonban]

Lowkey... Tobias with ear piercings goes kinda hard. Too bad he's 'whatever' on the subject

[starflungwaddledee]

They called me goofy...

:'D

well i'm pretty sure they won't do it again!

> follow up of this

[dandiestbard]

Jax's Quick Follow Blogroll.

Jaskier - @dandiestbard

Geralt - @whitehairedwitcher

Astarion - @rubyredtragedy

Gale - @wovenambition

Emmrich - @charmingthebones

Lucanis - @thecrowtakeswing

Tryck - @bluebardofhappiness

Jaez - @alluringlittledeath

John Constantine - @shabbyandpetty

Multi (semi-hiatus) - @writtenmisfits

[acoldsovereign]

{{ I be alive! Kinda on an unofficial hiatus until further notice (due to active job hunting!!!) if I didn't already say it, but still alive!

[sincerely-sofie]

*skitters up to you on all fours with a bunch of drawings in my mouth* *drops them at your feet* *skitters away*

enjoy some schizophrenia / psychosis / mental health-based humor.

[softquietsteadylove]

I have an idea for the lawyer au. Inspiration from Boston legal season 8 episode 9.

A girl, make her young like sprite, comes to Gil one day and asks if he is a lawyer and if he can help her. Gil thinking she is being a kid jokingly asks how much money she has and when she answers 10 bucks her father comes and wants to take her with her. But she holds onto Gil and says please help me, if I go back to Poland they’ll force me to marry a man in this country. in this moment he realizes it’s a serious matter and protects the girl. At the end of this case it’s a very depressing situation for him. Thena is there to gently lift him up

Im sure you’ll manage to do something with it

"Gil."

Gil didn't even pick his head up. He was all but sleeping in his mug of guinness. "Gil's not here."

Thena didn't let him get away with it. She did pat his shoulder with some sense of pity for him. "Come on, Gil. It's well past midnight and you have another court date tomorrow."

He groaned at even the mention of going into court again. He didn't know if he had it in him after his day today. "I'm not going back there."

Thena shuffled her purse on her shoulder and perched herself on the stool next to his. "You don't mean that."

"I do," he huffed, pushing the goblet away with distaste. All he could smell was the thick, sweet stench of it. "And I should have punched that judge in the face."

"It wouldn't have changed the ruling," she pointed out in a very Thena way. "Unless you want to be barred from practising law for a year, if not the rest of your life."

He shrugged. He wasn't sure how he felt about the law after today. He had always thought he was on the side of the good guys, as cliche as it sounded. Sure, the law was far from perfect, but he really thought he was doing some good with his job.

"You did everything you could for that girl, Gil."

He scoffed and rubbed his eyes. The dim lighting and loud music of the bar were making his vision blurry, and all he could taste in the back of his throat was cheap beer. "Is that what you call letting her get shipped back to Poland to get married to some old creep?"

She was a kid, no older than Sprite. It was a sickening 'case', no matter how sudden or pro bono it had been. She had even offered to pay with the only 10 dollars to her name, kept safe inside the birthday card it came in and everything. But none of it had done any good.

"We don't win every case, Gil."

"Well, you'd think this one would matter more!"

A few heads turned. He had been quietly sulking at the bar for hours, by this point, enough beers in that the bartender was beginning to eye him every time he asked for another.

Thena didn't even flinch.

Gil groaned again, scrubbing his face with his hands even though he'd been touching the bar that was cleaned only god knew when. He sighed, "I'm sorry."

But she understood his outburst, maybe even condoned it. "It's okay. I can't say I blame you for coming here and burying it under...how many is it now?"

More than he wanted to admit to. So, instead, he ruffled his hair and attempted to pull himself up in his seat with some dignity. "Doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure he's cut me off quietly anyway."

The bartender turned around, ears already burning and a towel slung over his shoulder. "Time to pay up, Boston Legal?"

"Very funny," Gil snarled at him. He knew it wasn't this guy's fault he'd had the worst day of his entire career, but that didn't mean he was in any mood for it. He slapped his hands over his jacket, his rumpled tie and then his suit pockets. "Shit."

"Oh come on, man, you're a lawyer, I know you've got-"

"It's okay, I'll pay it," Thena held her hand up, already reaching into her purse.

"Fuck," Gil cursed, hanging his head (as if he needed any more reason to be ashamed of himself tonight). He misjudged the distance, even knocking his forehead against the counter edge. Maybe it would be a little sobering, if he was lucky. "Thena, you don't have to-"

"It's okay," she assured him yet again, but she was still sounding more like 'work' Thena than the Thena had come to know and prefer.

Gil watched as the bartender took her card to close out his tab. He couldn't get any more pathetic anyway--what was a little more humiliation? "What are you doing here? Are the girls okay?"

Thena finally smiled at him, and it was the real Thena he saw, no matter how blurry. "They both asked to have sleepovers tonight. It's rare, but tomorrow is a half day at school, so I dropped them both off. When I asked how you were, the response wasn't all that clear, so I figured I would try here."

Gil made a face. He didn't remember talking with her. He felt around again for his phone, which he didn't so much pull out as clumsily drop it onto the bar. He blinked a few times, really trying to focus on reading his messages.

She had texted him, asking if he was doing okay and where he was. His response was a jumbled mess, but he unfortunately could make out something resembling him telling her that he was going to drown himself in beer and that she could join if she wanted.

He couldn't even remember reading, let alone responding to it. He really did need to be cut off for the night. He wasn't young and in college anymore--he would probably have a hell of a hangover tomorrow morning (afternoon).

Thena nodded as her card was handed back to her, Gil's debt settled. She turned back to him, "think you can walk?"

He grumbled. If he wasn't already, he would flush with guilt at the insinuation. "I'm not that bad, Thena, really."

She was kind to say nothing about him wobbling a little as he got up at first. But he made it to the door easily enough with her behind him. Maybe he did need a little hand on his back, but as soon as he was out in the cold night air it was at least a little better.

Thena pulled her jacket tighter around herself. She should have been at home, relaxing during her kid-free-evening. She could have been curled up reading or watching that funny ghost show she liked with a glass of wine or a mug of tea or something. Instead, she was picking up his drunk ass from a dive bar a block away from work.

"I'm sorry, Thena," he began apologizing, for the first time of many, he told himself. He owed her plenty more, and that was beyond his bar tab, which he would pay back with interest, too. "I just...that kid-"

He pushed his nose deeper into the soft material of her white turtleneck. The cotton or cashmere or whatever it was soaked up his tears. "She was just a kid."

Thena probably didn't consider herself a hugger, but she gave really nice ones. She was really gentle, and soft, and even if she was small boned, she still felt warm. Even in her boots, she was up on her toes just slightly to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling his face into her shoulder. "I know it's terrible. But you did everything you could, and we're just going to have to live with that."

"I know." Thena did know--she had sat in for the final leg of his plea. She had witnessed his loss and she had been the one to restrain him from mouthing off to the judge presiding and possibly losing his license. "It's not fair."

"What are we doing?" he asked, even hiccuping faintly as he closed his arms around her as well. He was a mess, probably stank of beer, and he shouldn't have been here in the first place. But he melted into Thena's good graces, letting her absorb some of his misery for him. "What good is any of this if I couldn't protect her?"

"That wasn't your job today," Thena whispered to him, and it felt as if it was right next to his ear. "Your job was to argue for her in her place, and you did that. You fought with all you had. But the law wasn't on our side, today. And there will be more days like this."

He knew that. He'd had hard cases before, lost cases before. But never anything like this. He'd had his faith in the judicial system and the court system and the social work system waver before--it came with the job. But now he wasn't sure how he was ever supposed to go back to work again.

"You lost a case, and it's never easy. But what that girl's parents are enforcing is not your fault."

It sure fucking felt like it was. Gil could still remember the look on the kid's face as it sunk in that it really was over, that they had lost and that her parents had every right to drag her back with them. He had handed her back the card with her birthday money in it, unable to accept it after their defeat.

"Come on," Thena leaned back, putting a hand on his cheek, probably checking his eyes to see if he was sober enough to make it back to his car. If she even called him an uber and watched him slump himself into it, it would already be more than he deserved.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, swallowing the lump in it. He looked around the parking lot, increasingly empty by this time on a work night. "I, uh, left my car back at work. It's probably where my wallet is, a-actually. I should-"

"We can get it tomorrow, Gil," she cooed in that melodic voice of hers. She insisted it was like cold, hard ice, but he thought it was gentle and elegant, like a curtain dancing in a window.

"I've gotta get home," he all but whimpered. What a wet blanket he was being, but whatever. He pulled out his phone again, attempting to find an uber she could toss him into and be rid of him.

"I know, come on," Thena pulled at his arm gently. And when he stumbled anyway she leaned closer, letting him rest his big, meaty shoulder against her little one. "I'll get you home."

He just stared. She looked really pretty in the streetlight glow, all blurry at the edges like it was a dream sequence in a movie. "You didn't have to come and get me."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Was I to leave you drowning in your beer?"

It would be a fitting end, at least. But he shrugged, leaning on her as little as he could afford as they made their way to her car. "You shouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of my shit."

But she shouldered him easily, getting him to the passenger door first and unlocking it with her fob. "We have the same job, Gil. Same job, same shit--I know what it's like to want to dive head first into a pool of cheap wine coolers and forget everything we've ever learned."

But she didn't, that was the difference. Because Thena had other obligations and responsibilities. And took them seriously, unlike how he had come over here without even his wallet somehow.

Gil leaned against the top of the car before letting her elbow him in. She was supporting him under his other arm, tucked into his side. He would rather be supporting her, like he had after she broke her arm. "Thanks, Thena--even if you're seeing me make a huge ass out of myself."

She gave him a really sweet smile as she separated herself from him at last, letting him get into the car seat. "Quite impossible."

She even closed the door for him, being a real gentleman to his drunk ass. Gil crossed his arms, tilting his head as he looked out her windshield. "I don't think that's true."

But she climbed into the driver's seat without a word, not wasting any time as she began backing out. "I've only picked you up a few times, but I believe I remember the way."

"You'll be fine," he murmured, still with a slight slur to his words. He would let her go and if he really had to correct her, he would. "Just look for a depressing bachelor complex and I'll be on the left."

Thena let out a laugh, which added at least some levity to the night.

She had a cute laugh. He looked at her again, although hopefully with her focused on the road she would just think he had a sore neck or something. "Y'know, maybe we should change firms."

"What makes you say that?"

He shrugged, his eyes getting fuzzy again. He was tired. "I mean, we're not allowed to do any pro bono work, which sucks. I know it's a small firm but come on."

"I do agree with you on that one," she muttered quietly. She could act all 'ice queen' if she wanted to, he knew she also had a soft spot for the kids they ended up working with.

"And the guys at the office," Gil made another face, but Thena was driving so she couldn't appreciate how funny it was. He made a noise to accompany it. "I don't like the way they look at you."

Thena didn't answer for a few minutes, probably trying to actually focus and navigate amidst his yapping. "I didn't think you noticed."

He blew a a raspberry, although with his dry lips it really sounded more like a wet fart. "Please, those pigs think they're being subtle when they look at you like--well, they're not, is what I'm getting at. And they wonder why I don't like them."

Thena let out a faint laugh again as she made a turn. She was driving a little slowly, but that was probably because she was afraid she would jerk him around too much and risk him hurling on her nice off-white interior. "I figured you were just too nice for their crass tastes in drinking buddies."

"Not disgusting enough, more like," Gil huffed again. He had to reel himself in and keep from divulging anything else. He didn't ever want to have to repeat to Thena the kind of language he'd heard them use to refer to her when they thought no one was listening.

And it didn't matter how many times he told them not to talk about her like that. All it ever did was get them convinced he was sleeping with her and beg him to tell them all about it.

"You would leave the firm just because of them?"

He slumped down further in his seat. He wasn't paying nearly enough attention to direct Thena if needed, but it was kind of nice just being in the car with her. Just them, a quiet drive, not even Sersi or Sprite or the loud, bouncy pop they liked to listen to between them.

Well, he did like some of the music they made him listen to.

"It wouldn't be just for that reason, there are more," he sufficed to say. But then he dragged himself up again and looked at her. "But I wouldn't leave without you."

Thena, driving, spared him a quick glance. She seemed surprised. "You wouldn't?"

"Of course not," he scoffed more lightly this time. Because that question was actually funny. "If anything, you're the reason I stayed past my probation period."

He wasn't supposed to tell her that. Well, he hadn't wanted to admit it to her, and certainly not like this. Whoops.

"Well," Thena began as they pulled into the parking lot of his building (unfortunately). Her voice really was like a lullaby. He had to wonder if he would even make it inside, at this rate. "If you decide to leave...then so will I."

[pardonmydelays]

are you guys ok???