#joaquin: about | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

likeakiss · 11 months ago

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licking blood from your teeth. a raised scar. the old east end. testing the cut on your lip with your tongue. a loud bang from somewhere in the distance. ringing in your ears. refusing to change. slicking back your hair. whiskey and cigarillos. shoot first, ask questions later. remembering where you came from. having to fight for everything you’ve got. violence as a language that everyone understands. exit wounds. the pig-headed belief that you’re always right. struggling to let things go.

statistics.

full name: joaquin vidal nickname(s)/alias(es): keen, the crooked hand name meaning: established by god age: fifty-seven date of birth: april 16th star sign: aries place of birth: poplar, london (now tower hamlets) current location: lambeth, london gender: cis-male pronouns: he/him sexual orientation: bisexual religion: raised catholic (not a very good catholic) occupation: mob boss family: david flores (father, estranged), alejandra franklin (née vidal, mother), bernard “bernie” franklin (step-father, estranged), ricardo “ricky” franklin and antonio “tony” franklin (half-brothers, estranged), emilia franklin (half-sister, estranged) “sweeney todd” (ex-wife) education level: didn’t even get his o levels (old man equivalent to gcses) living arrangements: a modern warehouse conversion in stockwell financial status: wealthy spoken languages: english, spanish

inspirations.

reggie kray (legend) harry (in bruges) tyler durden (fight club) euron greyjoy (game of thrones) maxwell roth (assassin’s creed: syndicate) reyes vidal (mass effect: andromeda) bill sykes (oliver twist)

biography. (tws for poverty, xenophobia, violence, unhealthy relationship dynamics)

A third generation Peruvian immigrant, Joaquin Vidal has never known any home but London. Born and raised in Poplar (a notoriously impoverished area of the city) life was always going to be a struggle for his family - for stability, for money, for respect - but struggle they did. Joaquin’s grandparents went about things the old fashioned way, sacrificing every last shred of their dignity to scrape together enough money to take over the lease on the local newsagent after the previous owner passed away. They managed it, just barely, but even at the tail-end of the sixties, Poplar wasn’t the most tolerant of places, and the shopfront was regularly graffitied or worse.

By the time Joaquin was born, the Vidals had come to realise that London’s streets weren’t paved with gold, as they had hoped they would be when they arrived in England. They had their shop, true, but it wasn’t enough - the family was still living on top of each other, three generations packed into two rooms, living hand-to-mouth. His mother, Alejandra, was only sixteen when she discovered she was expecting, and a wedding was quickly organised in a desperate attempt to hang on to the precious little respectability the Vidals had garnered within their community. It was only two years before Joaquin's father vanished into the night, never to be seen again.

Joaquin was still young when he started looking for trouble (or when trouble started looking for him, as he’d always insist). He was a handsome, charismatic teenager, with a swagger in his step and an appetite for violence that only comes from feeling like you’ve got something to prove. It seemed as if he was destined for gang life from the get go, smoothly transitioning from playground bust-ups and brawling in the streets to the well-paid world of underground fighting. Joaquin was a workhorse in the ring, a surprisingly lithe figure that categorically refused to stay down, and it made him a hugely valuable commodity as a prize fighter. He would do whatever it took to win, and then some.

It was around this time that he set his sights on a woman known to the Jolly Rogers as Sweeney Todd. The former Crooked Hand, a man by the name of Alistair Winchester, had heard of Joaquin’s success on the underground fighting circuit, and was actively trying to recruit him to his cause. Sweeney was Alistair’s niece, and had been embroiled in the workings of the gang since she was very young, meaning she was already well established as a career assassin. Joaquin was drawn to her immediately - he knew they were made for each other.

As his relationship with Sweeney developed, Joaquin became as assimilated into the Jolly Roger lifestyle as she was, working his way up from pit fighter to contract killer in a matter of years. He would always prefer working with his hands (or, rather, his fists), but he learnt to wield a gun with precision and deadly force. As a rule, Joaquin and Sweeney were not supposed to work contracts together - they were both experts in their craft, but their dynamic was volatile and unpredictable, entirely inexplicable to anyone but themselves. People used to say that one day they’d either kill each other, or end up married - they chose the latter.

Realistically, it was never going to last between them - in fact, it’s some kind of miracle (or maybe a curse) that their marriage survived the eleven years it did. After one, final, explosive argument, the Vidals separated for good, but angry as they were, they couldn’t stay away from each other for long. Joaquin started taking contracts abroad, furthering his reputation with the Rogers while doing his best to forget about Sweeney. But he couldn’t, he couldn’t move on from her. He’s never been good at letting go.

When Alistair Winchester shit the bed and got himself nicked, it was only a matter of time before someone was called in to clean up his mess. Following the customary vote between senior members of the gang, Joaquin was compelled to return from his work overseas, not so much stepping into Alistair's shoes as kicking them out of his way. He never sought the title of the Crooked Hand, and his election came as a surprise, but who is he to spit in the face of democracy? If the Jolly Rogers wanted a show of force, Joaquin Vidal would be the one to give it to them.

He's been the head honcho for coming up on four years now, driving the Jolly Rogers into an era of prosperity that puts old man Winchester's legacy to shame. The treaty is starting to chafe at him, though, his patience for niceties running dangerously thin. No, he thinks its high time his people start making some more aggressive plays - show the Jabberwocks and everyone else who really runs the streets of London.

other things.

Before he was the Crooked Hand, Joaquin was known as Sykes, after the character from Oliver Twist. Not the most flattering of code names, but he’s never been much of a reader, and didn’t understand the connotations until much later on.

Joaquin calls in on his mother approximately once every six months. They didn’t have the best of relationships after she remarried and started a new better family, but she’s old now, and the only surviving relative he’s still in touch with.

He's not usually much of a gambler, but he goes out of his way to attend the Royal Ascot every year, delighting both in betting on the horse races and terrorising the unfortunate toffs forced to share space with him for the duration of the event.

He’s a passionate West Ham supporter, and will thank you not to remind him how poorly they’ve been performing in the premiere league.

To date, Joaquin has never seen a cow in real life.

There isn’t a single event that could convince Joaquin to wear a tie. He didn’t even wear one to his wedding.

#joaquin: about #poverty tw #violence tw #xenophobia tw #unhealthy relationship tw #lfl.intro #daddy? sorry. daddy? sorry. daddy? sorry.

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simplegenius042 · 1 day ago

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Music Monday & WIP Tuesday

Tagging @voidika @raresvtm @josephseedismyfather @noodlecupcakes @imogenkol @socially-awkward-skeleton @inafieldofdaisies @aceghosts @cloudofbutterflies92 @cassietrn @direwombat @adelaidedrubman @derelictheretic @davrinsgriffons @shallow-gravy @strangefable @statichvm @carlosoliveiraa @g0dspeeed @wrathfulrook @starsandskies @ladyoriza @la-grosse-patate @thewanderer-000 @omen-speaker @alypink @shellibisshe @josephslittledeputy @skoll-sun-eater @afarcryfrommymain @strafethesesinners @turbo-virgins @florbelles @minilev @justasmolbard @yokobai and @seedsplease + anyone else who'd like to join.

Got three Hellaverse songs for my The UnTitledverse and Life, Despair & Monsters series and one FC5 WIP for The Silver Chronicles, and since we're coming up on "No John January", I thought to might as well show off one final snippet of John right on this post before never mentioning him for a whole-ass month (instead the only Seed siblings to get that honor would be the rest of them, mostly his brothers, right up until "Only Faith February", where she's the only Seed to talk about).

Listen and read below the cut:

First song is for The UnTitled Ventures saga of The UnTitledverse, where I imagine Joaquin Lockwood would be singing this lullaby as an assurance to both Eveline and Elise that if anything were to happen to him, he'll make sure they will be fine. His daughters are pretty much his driving motivation in his decisions throughout this saga. Listen below:

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"It always seems more quiet in the dark It always feels so stark How silence grows under the moon Constellations gone so soon

I used to think that I was bold I used to think love would be fun Now all my stories have been told except for one

As the stars start to align I hope you take it as a sign That you'll be okay Everything will be okay."

The next song is for my Hellaverse WIP Smile Tunes. Now in the scene this song takes place in, Krunk and Samuel are on a date at Ozzie's, but when Blitzø and Stolas are outed by Asmodeus and Fizzarolli, neither stand up for the IMP boss nor the Goetia Prince, in order to not be outed as dating, which a dramatic point for Krunk and his boss (as well as Krunk and the Morningstar's Royal Advisor he's dating). This sets up an arc that eventually pays off in this WIP's version of "Mastermind". [CW: This song involves references to sexual references]

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"Is that Blitzo? So you're showin' your face? Hey, everybody, this guy's a total disgrace! Some nerve you've got to comment on a relationship Last I checked, your love life is a pile of shit!"

"Oh, Blitzo? I used to date him." ("Date him, date him!")

"Oh, Verosika, you're here."

"I'd stroke him, I'd fellate him ("Fellate him, fellate him!") Yeah, but when it was my turn ("My turn, my turn!") He did no reciprocatin' ("What a dick-bag!") A selfish imp in the sheets, and just as bad in the streets A reckless, heartbreaking freak!"

"Who's that at your table? Is your date a demon prince? Stolas, is that you?"

"Are you sleepin' with an imp?"

"Woo! My dark lord, how the mighty do fall You used to have a smokin' wife, a kid, you had it all I hope you didn't give it up so you and him could get it up!"

And lastly, this song is a singing simplification of how Icarus manages to resolve the gap between him and Hatter, managing to reach a resolution where avatar and parasite can finally communicate with one another in their original WIP from my Life, Despair & Monsters series. And yes... it involved Icarus drinking a spiked tea that one of his alters, Xavier, left out for him in order to get both him and Hatter to speak to each other through their weird-ass dimension breaking connection. Since Moxxie's the only person singing in this song while Blitzø's part only involves dialogue, I though it was only necessary for Icarus/Hatter to since Moxxie's part:

[CW: References to recreational drug use and sexual references]

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"Hatter*? I can't see you God, this smells awful! What's that music? Is that you? Is this a prank? Because I swear to-"**

"It is no prank, bitch!"

"Hey! Why do you sound like that?"

"Because you, my precious little bitch boy-"

"Stop it, Hatter*!"

"-are tripping balls!"

"No! What? How could this be? I've never tried acid, shrooms or DMT It's a bad trip, oy gevalt! Of course, Hatter*, this would be your fault!

My lungs are full of honesty Would you promise me That you won't judge?"

"Yes, bitch!"

"Not trying to divulge too much But I'm in too deep, so first of all

Fuck you!"

"What?!"

"This is just typical Well, two can play at this game of dismay 'Cause if I'm here where you're causing frustration*** Xavier and Hinode must be experiencing their own hallucinations!****

Why do you hurt me so?"*****

"I know!"

"Why must you push our friends away?"***** "I push my friends away!"

"Why does it seem like a recurring theme That you alienate with your toxic routine?"

"I don't know, eventually everyone goes!"

"'Cause you're thoughtless and cruel and you'll end up alone!"

"Why, Icarus*, why Have you held your true feelings inside?"

"I am scared of rejection!"

"Why, Icarus, why Do you reach so close for the sun?"******

"Because I'm an arrogant perfectioni- Wait a minute!"*******

"No need to hide We accept your true feelings, so promise me!"

"That I can do..." "...to be true!"

"The world is your anus so peg it with honesty!"

"Ugh..."

"I've been a jackass, it's true!"

"But as soon as we're back to our normal selves."

"I will be a better friend than I was before!"

"Be better at speaking my mind!"

"And together, we can begin To become fine!"

[*Changed names to Icarus and Hatter since that's the focus. **Their not in Hell, so Satan's name wouldn't make sense. ***Since Icarus is only speaking to Hatter due to their shared connection being high enough, it wouldn't make sense for Hatter to be experiencing his own hallucinations when he's sharing it with Icarus, so just changed it to the reason below. ****Changed for the reasons above to Icarus noticing that Hatsukami and Xavier aren't with him and Hatter and makes the safe assumption that they're elsewhere in the recesses of his tripping mind. *****Changed it to collective pronouns (us/our) since Hatter's actions isn't just affecting Icarus. ******Icarus doesn't have a partner yet and also sex-averting so just changed it to a inside joke of his name. *******Icarus does not enjoy the joke that much despite being self-aware of the similarities between him and his famous namesake. >< Also Icarus saying "Ugh" towards Hatter's words is more an annoyed groan towards Hatter's lack of filter (where Icarus just finally gives up on trying to get Hatter to speak in a less vulgar manner) rather than the description of the action itself.]

Here's a WIP snippet for You're Almost Like Family where John finishes conversing with Silva at the gas station... before his loop restarts once more: [CW: Character death and minor description of gore]

The Deputy regarded him with a stoic mask, clearly processing the information he revealed to her.

It reminded John of Jacob in a way, but also of Faith, although the latter had a knack for copying qualities of the former.

The Deputy was quite a paranoid woman, as he's come to discover in these loops. She was, for the most part, closed-off to her allies, and held distrust towards strangers, even more so towards those she perceived as her enemies. She lacked belief in the Father and the Project long before she came to arrest his brother.

He was aware he had a hand in that, even if he doesn't know how. Although he wondered if this distrust went further back before even her arrival in the county.

The Deputy tapped her fingers against the belt around her hips, chewing against her cheek, before exhaling through her nose.

Moment of truth; did she believe him, or was he going to die a brutal death again? Though John was no longer a stranger to death, how the Deputy kills him was always a gamble of how much it was going to hurt.

Especially since she had no weapons, and there was a smashed plate nearby.

When her grey eyes gazed to him, she responded, "And I suppose since that directly goes against your family's whole mission of converting me to your cult, you'd want to inform me of this as soon as possible. Yeah, that weirdly makes too much sense."

John felt relief wash over him once more, his grin even more excited now that he's made actual progress. Though he wasn't finished yet, it was a step closer to his goal of saving her soul now that she believed him.

"Exactly," John told her, though toned his excitement down when she eyed him as if he was the strange one, "Now that we're on the same page, I want to propose a temporary truce between you and the Resistance in Holland Valley. Until this threat is successfully dealt with."

The Deputy raised a brow, inquiring, "And what makes you think this mystery killer is going to stick to Holland Valley?"

John didn't actually know. He's just been going off of what he's witnessed from previous loops. He doesn't actually have evidence to suggest most of her deaths were deliberate assassinations or sabotage.

However, what he did know is that wherever the Deputy was, her killer would likely be somewhere nearby.

He of course couldn't tell the Deputy any of this; the first time he told her, she called him a horrendous liar, and the last time he tried again, she outright told him she didn't believe him before attempting to escort him to the judgement of Fall's End... only to enter a truck that he could only guess had been planted with an explosion.

That... had been amongst his least pleasant memories in these loops.

And it wasn't like he could prove it to her. No matter what, the circumstances kept changing, too many factors were always shifting and it was rare for the Deputy to do or say the same thing twice as a result.

So instead John spoke as close to the truth as possible, if only to ease the Deputy's uncertainty, "Call it a hunch, dear. I've prosecuted and defended many in my time as an attorney, and if there's something I've learned about killers, they like to remain at a distance that isn't too far from their prey."

The Deputy did that curious little hum that he's always found endearing; it was short, too short for his liking, but he liked the sound of it. Made her seem beyond the remorseless killer full of wrath that his faithful had fallen to.

Thankfully, she didn't argue against his words.

"So a truce until we can dispatch whoever is after me?" she repeated his conditions, looking to him for confirmation, "That's it, right?"

While John was tempted into trying to push the Deputy into a deal that would benefit his family, he didn't want to fuck up this chance of gaining her cooperation in dealing with this threat.

Though John knew she'd be tempted in utilizing this in trying to gain her own conditions to her agreement, he decided to add.

"Yes, that's all I offer. Neither your rebellion nor my faithful will shed blood in this Valley. I'm unwilling to negotiate anything else until this threat is dealt with."

It'd do wonders for him if she'd stopped dying altogether.

She seemed displeased by that, and opened her mouth to argue.

Instead he retorted, "Besides, wouldn't you rather be alive if wanted to get Deputy Hudson back? I think it'd be counterintuitive if you wasted precious time better spent on hunting down your assassin."

She glared at him, but conceded in silence.

"Alright," she replied, reluctantly adding, "I'll agree to this truce. But I'm not sure how likely the Resistance will believe you. Do you have evidence on hand that could help better help us in convincing them?"

...Evidence?

John's previous joy was replaced by frustration at himself. How could I not have thought of that?!

"Uh, not on me, no," he admitted sheepishly, cringing at overlooking such an important detail, "But I'll gather it up back at the Ranch and Gate."

In other words, he was gonna have to quickly find something that would convince those sinner's to not disagree with his offer.

"I guess we'll rendezvous again when we do," the Deputy stated, and for that John could almost feel himself relax until she added, "But if it turns out to be an elaborate trap-"

John cut her off, "Yes, I understand, Deputy. I'm not going to deceive you into an ambush. You have my word."

The Deputy didn't seem completely convinced, and he suspected his word didn't mean much to her, but she was going to have to be satisfied with it.

"If that's all, I'm going to head back to Fall's End," the Deputy said, turning to leave. While John didn't believe Fall's End was the safest option for her, he knew he really can't do much about that.

He did think about using Bliss to incapacitate and bring her back to his Gate, but he ultimately decided against it; not only would he have a pissed-off Deputy who'd be even more resistant going after him, which could lead to Hudson's escape as well, but the assassin has proven to have an unfair expertise in infiltrating his family's troops.

It'd be a redundant effort on his part. At least with the Sinner's home base, the Deputy would be surrounded by her allies, and if she believes anything he's said thus far, would be on guard.

Though before she left, he couldn't help but ask one last question.

"You know, Deputy," John said, earning her attention, "I know neither of us are on the best of terms, but since it shouldn't be such a big deal to you, I'd appreciate it if you told me what your name is?"

Her brows furrowed as her expression shifted from confused to surprised realization, "You don't know what my name is?"

John blinked, cocking his head before shaking it, "No?"

"Hadn't Nancy, I don't know, given you my files beforehand?"

Ah, so she's assumed we knew she'd joined the force, John mused. Obviously she believed the arrest was an orchestrated ambush, and not God connecting their fates together. He'd clear up that misconception then.

"Nancy wasn't in a position to have access of such documents, I'm afraid. And given her role, she wouldn't have been able to inform us about your addition on the Marshal's taskforce," he informed her.

The Deputy hummed, looking to the side before her grey eyes returned to his blue, "And if I don't tell you?"

John just shrugged, "Then there's not much I can do then, is there, Deputy? Although, I have to ask, do you really want me to keep calling you Deputy for the remainder of the Reaping?"

She snorted, "I wouldn't have cared much until you kept pronouncing it that way."

He found offense to that, but refrained from making a comment as the Deputy looked down in contemplation, her stoic face giving away nothing.

When she looked back to him, his excitement was short-lived when he noticed a shadow enter through the station's door.

"It's-"

No words were quick enough to escape out of his throat when the back and front of the Deputy's skull exploded into chunks of flesh, brain and blood that sprayed onto him, with the bullet propelling through towards its next target.

John could see how it slowly made its way towards the bridge of his nose, the Deputy's fresh corpse limply falling forwards towards him at much the same pace.

He forced his eyes to gaze towards the assassin's figure, feeling the agonizing effects of the loop preparing his next restart.

He wondered if the assassin had followed him or the Deputy here, or if they had just been passing by.

Regardless, they had just nullified all his efforts to get to this point.

Desperate to not waste the remaining seconds left before either the bullet or the loop take him, he stared hard at the figure afar, their weapon drawn, so effortlessly quick, faster than he'd seen Silva draw her own.

He noticed the assassin was heavily draped in the Sinners usual clothing. And although difficult, John could also notice the unshaven stubble across the culprit's unfamiliar face.

John's eyes tried to capture more of what he saw of the assassin but the pounding ache once more resonated into his head as he-

The chapel's door's closed, indicating the Deputy and Joseph's departure, and all John could do to avoid falling off the podium behind his brother and sister again was reach for the wood behind him to steady his shaking legs.

He felt nauseous from being that close to such gore, but soon it was replaced with jubilation as he now learned of a new detail about the Deputy's killer.

But even that feeling didn't last when he realized where and when he was.

With no way to better process his raging frustration at his efforts being reduced to nothing, he articulated all of anger through one single word.

"FUCK!" he shouted, alarming Jacob and spooking Faith.

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