cigsandbeer | IC INBOX

I don't drink myself, I'm afraid, but I can get one ready for ya in the Lounge if y'all are willin'?

[At least he sounds normal about it, cheerful and a little awkward.]

Sounds good.

Uh, in half an hour good?

[Gojyo sounds pretty disinterested and nonchalant himself. If Hakkai were around to translate, he'd be able to tell you that Gojyo being willing to be ready in just half an hour means he's a little worried about what Sam is going to say about Ellie.]

Thank you kindly, Gojyo.

[And when Gojyo gets there, Sam is immediately identifiable in his cowboy hat at the bar, with two cans (unopened) and an empty seat next to him, and he has the decency to only look up when he hears Gojyo actually enter the lounge, rather than when he makes it onto the upper deck.

And he'll lift a hand to tap his brim in greeting.]

Edited 2025-10-17 07:11 (UTC)

Yo, [Gojyo says with a wave of his cigarette (Gojyo is of the chain-smoker school of thought that 'if no one is around to witness you smoking indoors, there's no way they can tell you've been doing it').

He takes a seat next to Sam, slumping like he usually does, and reaches for a can. Sam can just say what he wants to say, he figures.]

[Let’s not beat around the bush, then. He's learned enough about Gojyo that the frontal assault is the most effective.]

Now let's not go pretendin' neither of us is foolin' no-one, alright amigo? [Not that he's aggressive, just. Plain, forthright.] I'm aware y'all an' Armand are in, uh. What the kids these days call a situationship. You an' him are doin' somethin' that makes the pair a' y'all important to each other, but apart from lettin' y'all know I know about it, that ain't none a' my business.

[Fffff.

First impulse: loudly deny this claim.

Second impulse: punch Sam for insinuating anything.

Third impulse: get up and walk away.

Gojyo takes a long, looong drag of his cigarette.]

So what.

So that means that Armand might - an' I do mean might, 'cos as much as I know him, he can be a might bit unpredictable as to when he puts his mind on somethin' - well, I got some legitimate concerns that he might try an' do somethin' that gets Ellie killed.

[He watches Gojyo's face, mostly to gauge how he ought to steer this rather than gunning for any particular reaction.]

How much do y'all know about Armand's past?

[The mention of possibly getting Ellie killed gets Gojyo's eyes to dart over at Sam, concerned.

...Nah, no way would Armand do that. Gojyo's not important enough to him to warrant that kinda reaction; that's stupid.]

Vague outlines, mostly. You've read his file? [He assumes Sam has, but on the off chance he's one of those wardens that don't read their inmate's file, Gojyo doesn't want to share details of Armand's life without his permission.]

Yessir I did, yeah.

[He doesn't sound ashamed or even upset by it. Just the requirement of being a therapist.

But his voice is more gentle when he continues.]

He ever tell you about a little miss by name a' Claudia? Or his last partner Louis?

[Gojyo goes back to not looking at Sam, and cracks his can of beer open.]

He mentioned that guy, [Louis] and his master who bought him.

[No Claudia, he doesn't think.]

Well, Louis an' Claudia were sired by the same vampire, Lestat de Lee-encore. So they treated each other like siblings, almost - though given that Claudia was somethin' near t'fourteen years young when she done got turned, Louis an' Lestat were somethin' more like parents to her, really.

[He shifts to rest both elbows on the bench, letting his fingers tangle and his hands hover loosely over the bar.]

She was still around when Louis an' Armand started datin'. But when Louis kept prioritisin' his daughter over Armand, well. Armand didn't take so kindly t'bein' made second fiddle, even if he couldn't articulate it like that to no-one.

[Is it great to hear that Armand probably killed a fourteen-year-old kid?, or... whatever age she was as a vampire? No. But it's also not super surprising or anything. Armand's already killed two people in the time Gojyo's known him.]

Yeah, well. First off, he and I ain't dating.

Second: if he starts being weird about it, I'll punch him in the face to get his head screwed on straight.

Well, I'm just worried it ain't gonna be as simple as that, is the thing. See, Armand didn't kill Claudia - or at least he'll tell you as much, an' if we're lookin' at that as layin' hands on her, he's right.

[He leans in a little, trying to convey his seriousness.]

But he didn't do shit to stop his actin' troupe from rippin' her to pieces. He set it up just right so that it'd keep the blood off of his hands completely, an' make sure Louis damn well didn't find out he was behind it all.

[Sam can probably see Gojyo's eyes widen a little as he tenses up at ripping her to pieces. What the fuck, Armand and acting troupe.

What Sam's saying about Armand's M.O. makes sense, is the thing.
I didn't realise just how drunk he was.
There has been something of a mishap.
Gojyo's too fluent in speaking in code to miss what Armand leaves out.]

Well. Unfortunately for him, I've talked to him after two of the murders he's committed here, [- if there are more, Gojyo doesn't know about them -] so I know the kind of shit he says after. And he knows I know; he ain't stupid.

He ain't, nah. But he gets away with treatin' a lot a' folks like they are 'cos he don't give them proper regards.

[He sighs, wishing he could have a fucking drink himself.]

I ain't sayin' this to push y'all apart, or t'make you reject him or act out at him. I just reckon it's the right thing to do, t'make sure you can make an informed decision. An' frankly I reckon he could use someone else that sees through his bullshit an' doesn't punish him fer fallin' back on bad habits. He needs talkin' to, not hittin' into submission, that's how he got like this in the damn first place.

I'm not kicking a guy to the curb for something he hasn't even done yet. And I'm not gonna let him do anything to Ellie, so that's that.

[How is Gojyo planning on stopping Armand? Shounen protagonist plot armour, that's how.

He takes a swig of his beer.]

I've known a lot of guys with bad habits. [Himself included.] Punishing never helps.

[That gets a twitch of a smile beneath the moustache.]

An' if there were more folks like you that recognised that wisdom, we wouldn't have a problem in the first place. [The smile fades with a light sigh.] But fer right now, we've got what we've got. An' I ain't askin' you to come squealin' t'me about what the pair a' y'all might talk about in private - but as his warden, if y'all catch wind a' him hurtin' someone, or you reckon somethin' smells awful fishy about someone you think Armand don't like gettin' fucked over here... well, I'd appreciate the heads up. That's all.

[Why is he being talked to like a competent adult and why is it oddly nice......]

The two times I'm aware of I only found out after the fact, and one was through your announcing it over the Network. So I doubt that's gonna be a thing. [Okay, so the second time Armand came to Gojyo, but it was still only after it'd happened...]

But sure. You're not gonna go to him all 'you better not do anything to Ellie', right?

[Sam sounds like he has enough sense not do to anything like that, but...]

Heh. Nah, I ain't gonna set the pair a' them up like that, an' I ain't gonna do you dirty by gettin' yer inmate hurt.

[He leans and nudges Gojyo with his elbow.]

But us rough an' tumble guys gotta stick together, right? Just 'cos we know how t'finish a fight, don't mean we gotta go startin' 'em.

[Hah! This is clearly familiar ground to Gojyo: he instantly responds by clapping Sam roughly-but-friendly on the shoulder.]

Speak for yourself: I've started plenty of fights since I got here. [Model warden, ladies and gentlemen.]

[That gets a delighted little chuckle out of Sam.]

Well I reckon it just ain't fair if I'm the one startin' things! Ain't many folks as can outpace a vampire with a six-shooter, 'specially any inmates.

Hey, I'm youkai, and that's not stopping me.

[Half-youkai, admittedly, but that still gives him a significant advantage over a baseline human.]

But good on you for having self-control or whatever.

Edited 2025-10-24 12:17 (UTC)

Well, I didn't when I was your age. I was a stone-cold outlaw, me an' my brother, an' back then I wouldn't a' had it any other way. Took me two hundred years t'get as relaxed as I am now!

That's a funny way to pronounce "old", [Gojyo teases good-naturedly.]

Think this is the first time I've had my shit together earlier than someone. [...Well. Mostly together. More together than five years ago.]

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