bakerstreet | mega meme

Entry tags:

! multiple memes

mega meme

↪ Drop any of your characters.
↪ Use RNG and enter 1-14 for a scene; roll again for specifics.
↪ Or cheat and just pick something.
↪ OPTIONAL: combine a bunch of memes and scenarios and go nuts.
↪ NOT optional: HAVE ALL THE FUN OR ELSE.

I. BED INVADERS

A. Decide you know this person! (Castmate, previous CR, etc.)
1. WAKE THEM UP. You don't care how friendly you are to the person in your bed; they need to get up.
2. PRANK! Oh, this has just got to stop. They need to be punished. But how?
3. CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN 'EM. Push 'em over & snuggle up. You're too tired to deal with this craziness right now. Or sleep on your couch.
4. LET THEM SLEEP. Whatever. It's noon. They're asleep and you've got things to do. Regard them or disregard them.

B. Decide you have NO CLUE who is person is! (No CR, castmates who have never met, crosscanon, etc.)
5. SCREAM 'OMGWTFBBQ GET UP!' Really. Default action going on here.
6. PRANK! What a better way for you to remember this moment of meeting than by painting a mustachio on your new 'friend's' face? (Remember, it's your bed. Be wise what you do.)
7. GENTLY AWAKEN THEM. Oh, the poor dears! They must be exhausted, but they can't stay here. Be nice, even if it isn't IC for your character. This is what you get for rolling. Shake them up quietly. Or re-roll.
8. GET TO KNOW THEM NON-BIBLICALLY. Well, they're asleep. But they left their wallet, important work, or identification out (no matter how OOC it may be)! Let's see who's REALLY sleeping in your bed. (Use your own judgment on what you find. AS a suggestion, have the most they find is the sleeper's name and maybe place of work.)
9. TIE 'EM UP. FUNCTIONAL typing up. Not kinky, no matter what the other party might think. Let them continue their blissful moment of rest. They'll answer questions later and you'll be safe and sound.

C. Decide - fuck the police. You heard. Fuck 'em.
10. YOU MOVE FORWARD AND MAKE YOUR OWN FATE.

II. ROAD TRIP

1. BREAK DOWN. Oh snap. Your car decided to break down out in the middle of nowhere. WHAT DO? Is that Leatherface? Will this be "Children of the Corn"?
2. HITCHHIKERS? Is this even a good idea? Threads may also have a third participant. Go wild.
3. WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST HIT? Dude, I hear deer mess up cars... Or I think that was a deer...
4. DON'T MAKE ME TURN THIS CAR AROUND. Alas. You're the parent or disgruntled friend who has had it up to here with all the fighting in the back. This thread may also have a third or even fourth participant, if you can wing it.
5. OMG, I WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS LANDMARK! No, no, and no. You tell that person that they're going to be driven around and they're going to like it.
6. THE GREAT ESCAPE. Either dinosaurs or the mothman is chasing you. Don't stop now.
7. MAKE OUT. For whatever reason, the person you're traveling with in the car. You would love to make out with them and then some.

III. CUDDLES

1. SWEET DREAMS. It's been a long day and all you want to do is sleep or just rest your eyes for a bit. Hopefully whoever is close by doesn't mind if you use them as a blanket.
2. STORMY WEATHER. The heavy rain, thunder, and lightning won't be letting up anytime soon. Luckily, it's the perfect weather to stay indoors and snuggle up close and keep warm.
3. SLOW DANCE. It's the end of a party, or maybe it's only the two of you, but the tempo is slow and the lights are low. Let your dance partner take the weight and just sway.
4. SURPRISE ATTACK. Time to invade someone's personal space. Are they working too much and need a distraction? Maybe you just wanted to brighten their day. Either way, they won't see it coming.
5. MOVIE NIGHT. It can be on the sofa or in a darkened theater, but you've got your popcorn and someone to settle against during your favorite movie.
6. I LOVE YOU, MAN. It's totally platonic, really. You're just very good friends, no matter what people like to think. But you just love your friend so much you want to hug them, whether they like it or not.
7. JEEPERS CREEPERS. Welp. You were just frightened. Was it a spider in the washroom, a ghost in the attic, a bad dream? Either way, you're looking for someone to cling to right now, and who better than that person right there?
8. HURT AND COMFORT. Whether you're sick in bed, just been dumped, or suffered a traumatic event, you need someone to wrap their arms around you and make everything go away.
9. SUNDAY MORNING. Maybe you just had a wild night. Maybe there's just not enough space at your place and you need to share your bed. Or maybe you just got really tired and someone else happened to be there. Doesn't matter because now the person with you looks way more comfortable than any blanket or pillow. Drape to your heart's content.
10. MOMENT AFTER. You just had incredible, vigorous sex and if you weren't a cuddler before, you are now. You're probably too exhausted to do anything else anyway. Just enjoy the moment.
11. MENAGE A TROIS. Or four, or five. Get a group and cuddle away.
12. PLAYER'S CHOICE. Pick one or make up your own!

IV. HURT/COMFORT

1. INJURY. You've been injured. Broken bones or bleeding out or maybe just a tiny little papercut. The choice is yours.
2. SICKNESS. You're sick and laid up in bed, at home or in a hospital. The severity is up to you.
3. FEAR/ANXIETY. Something is happening and you're scared beyond belief.
4. LOSS OF SENSES. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, etc. You've lost some important sense or ability and now you're left to deal with it.
5. DESPAIR. Nothing is good or right anymore and you can't shake the depression. Maybe that friend of yours can help though.
6. MAKE UP. Fight or break up, it's time to make up.
7. RESCUED. You've just been held captive and/or tortured for however long and finally, someone has come to the rescue.
8. BAD ROMANCE. Fight, cheat on, abuse, whatever the case is, someone else can clearly see you need comfort from someone who isn't your terrible lover tonight.
9. LOSS. You've experienced a loss of some kind and need help getting through it.

V. FIGHT

1. FISTFIGHT. Straight-up, unfussy, no-holds-barred face punching. Clearly you're emotionally invested in this argument. Or maybe you want some stress relief.
2. BAR FIGHT. Someone's had one too many drinks. Curses are being slurred, bottles are being smashed. Just don't be surprised if you get thrown out.
3. VERBAL. A caustic, intellectual battle of wits? Or just immature playground insults? Either way, the fighting here isn't physical; sticks and stones can break your bones, but we'll see if words can hurt you...
4. WEAPONRY. Fencing practice or a real swordfight? Paintball or battlefield gunfight? The only limits are your imagination (and the extents of human military engineering, of course)!
5. SPARRING. Maybe you're a streetwise punk teaching the new kid on the block the ropes of self-defense. Or perhaps you just want to get some practice in before your karate exam.
6. SEXY. That collar-grabbing led to a kiss, that knee stayed in a place a little too long, those gazes got a little intense... There's heavy breathing here, but it might not be because you've been exerting yourself.
7. DUEL. You insulted the wrong person. Or got caught cheating at cards. A duel, sir, a duel! The gloves are off (and slapping you) and it's pistols at dawn.
8. COMPETITIVE. Boxing, wrestling, martial arts, the possibilities are endless. Just remember: the first rule of Fight Club...
9. OTHER. Combine any of the above, or make up your own!

VI. BODY HORROR

1. WATER-DWELLING. You've grown gills, or your skin is turning translucent, or you're sprouting fins, or maybe you're outright turning into some form of sea life. It doesn't matter what you're turning into - what does matter is that you're slowly losing the ability to breathe air, and there's no water in sight.
2. ANIMAL. Something bit you, and you're turning into an animal. Your bones lengthen or perhaps shrink, break, twist, and reform. Your teeth lengthen or shorten. And above all, you feel your instincts being overridden. Your senses sharpen; you notice smells you never did before. Your vision becomes more sensitive to movement. If you're a predator? Man, these people look mighty tasty. Prey? OH GOD. EVERYTHING IS TERRIFYING. Lizard? Enjoy your new inability to regulate body temperature. Bird? Have fun with the whole beak and hollowing bones. And don't get us started on insects and arachnids.
3. PARASITIC. Something's inside you, and it's changing you from within, chewing up your insides and altering your thoughts. You're not sure how much longer you're going to be you, and when the parasite's going to take over completely...
4. DEMONIC. You've been meddling with dark powers beyond the ken of mortal man, and it seems you've accidentally sold your soul. Will you be the traditional kind of demon, horns and hooves, or something far more terrifying and ineffable?
5. UNDEAD. No doubt about it, you're dying. But as you are, something's been altered in you. Maybe you're becoming a vampire - and not the fun kind either; we're talking ugly, ravenous, and mad. Maybe you're a zombie, or a ghoul, and human flesh looks mighty tasty. Or maybe you're just turning into a ghost bent on vengeance. In any case, death is never fun.
6. CYBERNETIC. Get captured by the Borg? Strapped to an operating table? Injected with nanites? Whatever happened to you, you're slowly turning into something half-human, half-machine, and your squishy bits are being replaced by mechanical components.
7. LOVECRAFTIAN. You've heard their song, the terrors from beyond the stars, and even no they sing in your blood as your flesh transmutes into something ineffable and unknowable. You revel in the pain. You feel even as you seek to spread it, to herald the end of all things... Or maybe worse. You're aware of the transition as your mind becomes not your own.
8. FUSION/HIVEMIND. You've begun to fuse with the first person who tagged you - physically, mentally, or both. Soon, you can't tell who is who, which one of you is the real you, as your thoughts become one. Join in the fleshsong, mortal.
9. INANIMATE. Your body slowly petrifies and hardens, tuning to stone, wood, glass, or something stranger still. Or perhaps you liquefy or maybe you dissolve into the air itself.
10. WILDCARD. Pick whatever you like, combine a few options, or make up your own.

VII. HIGH SCHOOL AU

1. CLASS TIME. Pick your class, pick your seat. Whether you're paying attention or goofing off, you're interacting constantly with someone else.
2. BREAK TIME. Those precious minutes that aren't lunch, usually half an hour if you're lucky. Are you hanging out on the grass, rushing to get homework finished, or bunking off school early?
3. LUNCH TIME. Food, glorious food! ... As long as you're not eating the school lunches. What sort of chaos will you get up to in the endless queue that is the lunch line?
4. FOOD FIGHT. The natural reaction to being served school lunches: throwing them as far away from you as possible. You're caught in the middle, or maybe you're instigating it. Who knows? No one can tell.
5. STUDY PERIOD. Yeah. "Studying." They mean catching up on gossip, right? Or watching that crappy TV in the common room? Or maybe you really want to study. I'm not judging.
6. SKIPPING SCHOOL. Did you even get to school before you bunked off somewhere? Or did you just take the bus five stops further and in to town? Hope you don't get caught, either way.
7. EXAM WEEK. You're going into an exam, or just cramming every last bit of knowledge into your head. Either way, good luck! You're going to need it.
8. DETENTION. What did you do? Or were you innocent and wrapped up in your friend's scheme, and now you both have detention? I do not envy you at any rate.
9. SUMMER HOLIDAY. SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Burn your books, burn your uniforms. Everything is over for another 6 weeks (or however long you get off).
10. FACULTY. Oh, hello miss/sir. No, we weren't talking about bunking. Yep, you're the teacher. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you get this option, you or your partner can do a second roll for the scenario.
11. TAKE YOUR PICK. Free for you. Whether you want to pick something from the list, or make up your own scenario, this option allows that. (Of course, you could just bypass the rolling entirely.)

VIII. APOCALYPSE HOW

1. LAST ACTION HERO. You tried your best to save the world, but despite the superpowers, the teamwork, and the sacrifice of many good friends, you couldn't quite pull it off. Now you're left with your guilt and a universe where half the people left are depending on you to help them, while the rest are trying to hunt you down for your failures. Good luck with that, hero.
2. SCIENCE SAVIOR. They said it was impossible, they said it was futile, but you know that if you just got a little bit of support you could fix all of the world's troubles. Maybe your experiments are a bit on the unethical side, but the survival of humanity is depending on you! You can't let the world down. Time to grab those test-tubes and get yourself a lab assistant that doesn't mind getting their hands dirty.
3. THE LAST PERSON ON EARTH. Well, it's finally happened. A virus or disease or genetic mutation has all but wiped out members of the opposite sex and humanity is doomed. But what's this? A lone survivor? As the saviour of the species, they'll be glad to lend a hand (or reproductive organ) to help restore the population, right? Maybe a little bit of persuasion is in order.
4. SO LONELY. You haven't talked to another person in days and you're starved for conversation. So when you finally meet another lone traveler it makes total sense to stick together, right? Maybe share some food, some companionship, some ammo. . . . Better hope you both get along.
5. MUTATION STATION. The bomb dropped and some people weren't fortunate enough to go in the blast. Now those left behind have to deal with nuclear winter, a dwindling food supply, and some strange additions to the human gene code. Maybe these superhumans are friendly and misunderstood. Then again, maybe they just want to eat your brains.
6. LAST DANCE. The world is ending. You know it, everyone knows it, so the only thing left to do is party like it's 1999. Complete your bucket list, do the things you never got the chance to do before, and maybe screw up the courage to do the things you were too scared to even think about doing. Oh, and watch out for looters.
7. FREEBIE SCENARIO. Anything you can think of that isn't already mentioned can go here.

IX. PARANOIA

1. EROTOMANIA. That person loves you. They belong to you. They might deny it and be with someone else but they're ridiculous. You know better here.
2. DISTRUST. Simple as it sounds, you're being lied to. You can't prove it but you're not falling for their tricks anymore.
3. HALLUCINATIONS. A vague classic. Those sounds, those sights, your senses are screwed up and the world is upside down. There's plenty of senses to screw.
4. TAINTED. You're completely wrong. Is it in your family's blood? Is it parasites? A disease? Aliens? A sin? But it's consuming you, whatever it is.
5. CONSPIRACY. Why are they after you? Who knows. Maybe you know. But everyone is in on it and you're the only one left fighting against it.
6. CONTROL. Your actions aren't your own, even if others insist they are. Somehow, either drugs or magic or something, someone is making you their puppet.
7. FIXATION. Either it's in you or someone else or a thing but this imperfection is clawing at your mind. Just fix it. Fix it and you can rest.
8. FOLIE A DEUX. The more either you or the other person talks, the more you feed into this unease and the more real it sounds. What can you two alone do?
9. REPLACEMENTS. Is it just this person or is everyone being replaced with a fake? You're not a fake, though. You won't let them replace you.
10. REAL. Is any of this real? Maybe you're dreaming or drugged. Maybe you're dead. But you need to prove that this is really happening, whatever it takes.

X. MOOD MISMATCH

The character tagging in can be the cause, the subject, or the witness of a more or less (in)appropriate display of feelings.

I. WOEFULLY
1. Take over the world.
2. Eat chocolate cake.
3. Train with them.
4. Attend a party thrown for them, or for you.
5. Get crowned / promoted / awarded a high honour by, or beside them.
6. Receive a dazzling gift from them.

II. ANGRILY
1. Carry out a domestic task with their help.
2. Make them a sandwich.
3. Direct them in traffic.
4. Propose, or commit to them.
5. Deliver their mail / missive / gift.
6. Give them a massage.

III. BLISSFULLY
1. Break their heart.
2. Read out a defamatory article about them, or a vicious critical review of their work.
3. Trigger a curse/mechanism that condemns you both to some terrible chore or fate.
4. Destroy all that is dear to them.
5. Share your germs. All of them.
6. Sign you both up for a nigh-suicide mission.

IV. SENSUALLY
1. Mop the(ir?) floor.
2. Carry out a mundane phone conversation.
3. Vandalize public property.
4. Take down your enemies.
5. Play chess.
6. Confess to them, or give a report of your activity.

V. POLITELY
1. Take them hostage.
2. Knock them out.
3. Pickpocket them.
4. Confront them about something you learned by listening in on their private conversations, reading their (e-)mail, or having their house under surveillance.
5. Betray them.
6. Try to kill them, or have them killed.

XI. RANDOM LOCATION

1. LOST. Oh shit, how did you even get here.
2. ON THE RUN. Getting away from someone or something that's after you.
3. TREASURE HUNTING. Something you desire is here. Maybe it's being guarded or you're competing for it.
4. TRAVELLING. You turned up here on purpose. Why is up to you.
5. ESCAPE. Things have gone wrong and you need to get out of this place.
6. DISASTER. Something awful has happened whether you're the cause, a witness or there to help.
7. INVASION. It's a siege! Are you defending or attacking?
8. HOME. It's actually where you live.
9. DUEL. The predetermined location to end a feud.
10. WHATEVER. Just make something up, whatever.

XII. STOP! SOMEONE IS NAKED IN YOUR...

1. BED. Waking up after a wild night or just getting ready for bed?
2. OFFICE. Getting a leg up at work? Caught in a moment of indiscretion?
3. YARD. Someone's been communing with nature...
4. CAR. The warmth of a heater during snowfall... or the aircon during a melting summer.
5. BEACH. Oh look, there's a floating swimsuit... and there's its owner.
6. RIVER. God, can't even fish without hooking the wrong species.
7. BATTLEFIELD. Oops, someone looted the wrong corpse... who isn't actually a corpse.
8. SCHOOL. All right, who's been raiding the locker room?
9. BATHROOM. . . . Oh, hey, who needs a shower, right?
10. PARK. Sun and grass and lots of people to . . . watch . . . oh my.
11. . . . CLOTHES?? Okay, technically they are clothed, but it's not their clothes dammit.
12. OTHER. Because there are way, way too many more places than I can think of.

XIII. INTIMACY

1. PHYSICAL INTIMACY. It might just be innocent touches or it might be during sex.
2. LONG CONVERSATIONS. Honest words can be more intimate than touch.
3. DRUNK. You're oversharing or simply maudlin.
4. FORCED INTIMACY. Magic. A truth serum, whatever - you didn't mean to bare your soul, but that is precisely what you're doing right now.
5. SLOW-DANCING. There is something inherently intimate about trusting someone else to lead you, and someone trust you to lead them.
6. OTHER. Intimacy can come in many forms. Pick your poison.

XIV. OTHER

1. BOUNTY HUNTERS. You're wanted. And someone is chasing you. Maybe it isn't your fault? But maybe you did rob that bank. Either way, there's someone after that price on your head. Confront them, or run? Specify hunter or hunted.
2. TRUTH. You can't tell a lie. Maybe both of you can't, or only one of you, but now is the time to ask those embarrassing questions.
3. OBEDIENCE. The person posting is compelled to obey, no matter what. (Un)Fortunately the person commenting is compelled to give orders. All orders given must be obeyed.
4. LOTUS EATERS. The person posting is trapped in their own dream of personal paradise. The person commenting is trapped with them. Help free them, or fall into paradise?
5. PLANTS OF DEATH. Plants are trying to kill you. (Something's . . . happening.)
6. INSOMNIA. One or both of you can't sleep, and that sucks. Be awake together.
7. DREAMWALKING. One of you is trapped in the other's dream - or nightmare.
8. SOULMATES. You are meant to be, whether the relationship is functional or . . . less so.
9. PICTURE/QUOTE PROMPT. Throw a bunch of pictures and/or quotes around and see what happens, freeform style! Try RP Visualocities or A Sea Of Quotes.
10. OTHER-WORLDLY. Go to the Other-Wordly blog and hit 'Random' until you get a word. Use the word as a prompt to write up an RP scenario. Do this several times if you like. Mix & match.

yoinked from

a_mused

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ M/M for shipping! Anything goes! ]

Cal finds himself staring at the ceiling. He's had the Animus flashbacks less and less since he left Abstergo, and yet... right now? It feels like one of those afternoons, like he can feel someone in the room with him when there can't be anyone there.

But the feeling only intensifies. He sits up.

"Hello?"

The problem with this target, Evie had been telling him, was the bleeding effect. Something something blah blah blah. There was more, he hadn't listened,just flicked through the blueprints and the personal details they had. It wasn't much, but he didn't need it. He could get into anywhere, kill a target and get out without her 400 page report on the after effects of the Animus.

He stops still when the target shifts, not yet in the room, but close enough to hear the movement and then the word, called out like he expects an answer.

Bleeding effect. Bleeding effect. He drags through what he recalls: the temporary assassin-like abilities the Animus might leave users with, like heightened senses, better strength and stamina, even Eagle vision. Right. Right.

He keeps still as a statue, barely breathing. He really doesn't want to have to walk out of here covered in blood if it can be helped.

Cal listens carefully for a moment.

"I can hear you," he says. "I can hear you breathing."

Maybe he's talking to himself. To the ghost of Aguilar that follows him but also... is in him somehow.

Or maybe someone is there.

But he doesn't actually know which it is.

[On the radio, the newscaster reports: Three casualties have been reported after the fire in an Abstergo office building in Penarth was contained yesterday. Edward would be more proud of himself and Jacob, actually is proud right now, only a job well done is the very last thing on his mind as he opens the hood and stares down at the engine.]

Bloody hell, not even made it past the mountains and already the damned thing's given out. [He digs around in his phone, fishes it out, and stares down at the black screen that stubbornly refuses to turn on no matter how long he presses the power button.] My phone's dead. Frye, how's yours?

[Please god say "my phone is just fine thanks" or Edward will just, like, scream into the trees.]

[After a long day at the office the last thing you want on the way home is engine trouble. And while the office they're leaving wasn't theirs, this is still one of the last things that should have happened.

He was really looking forward to heading back to the city, getting a shower and then going out to work off the adrenaline rush. Fires always did that, always made him feel a little less in control, a little more vulnerable.

Breaking down in the arse-end of nowhere doesnt help.]

My phone is just fine. But the signal here is balls.

[He knows this because he's been trying to message someone back for the last ten minutes and it's going nowhere.

He gets his feet off the dashboard and gets out the car to join Kenway under the hood, peering at the grease-stained metal, radiating heat. ]

How different is a boat engine to a car engine?

Edited 2024-05-25 11:26 (UTC)

Damn it. I was about to use your phone to call Adé.

[Even if Adé couldn't get here in person he would've called another Assassin in the vicinity to help! As things stand, they're stuck in the mountains, their phones don't work, and Edward did not bring anything for camping because he thought they'd be in the city soon.]

The Jackdaw's a ship, not a boat, and her engines are bigger than a car's, anyway. [Still, Edward has picked up some skill at being able to tell what's wrong with a vehicle, and after a minute or two he lets out an aggrieved sigh.] Shit, the battery's out.

[Well. If they don't check back in soon, at least someone from the Brotherhood is bound to go looking for them, but Edward's not looking forward to roughing it in the mountains in the meantime. He sighs.]

Check the trunk, there might be something there. [He doubts it. He'd borrowed this car off Bonnet. It'll be a miracle if there's anything back there but books and a fishing rod.]

Edited 2024-05-25 12:01 (UTC)

You know his number off the top of your head?

[Because Jacob doesn't. He just clicks people's names on his phone. He remembers Evie's, and that's it. But of course Kenway knows Adé's number. He's his... whatever you call a second in command on a boat.

Ship. Whatever.

He passes the phone over anyway before going to look through the car. If Edward Kenway is brave enough to look through a 21-yr-olds phone, good on him. ]

There's a rug... torch... jump leads. Which would be useful,if we had another car.

[He grabs the rug and torch, testing it works, and returns to Kenway's side.]

It's not just our lot that are going to be looking for us. I don't want Sigma Team up my arse.

You don't know anyone's? [This is a lie, Edward knows his ex-wife's number, his kids' numbers, and Adéwalé's. The rest is in his notebook, which is stuck somewhere in his bag and he refuses to rummage through it to try and dig it out right now. Too much effort. He'll just try and call Adé while Jacob tries to get the engine going.]

If Sigma Team does show up, we can use their car instead. I've seen those armored vans they roll around in, been wanting to get behind the wheel on one.

[He says this with a note of irony, aware that this is assuming they don't get killed first. He doesn't entirely like their odds up against Abstergo's elite strike force—Edward's one of the best Assassins in Britain, a fact he can more than back up, and he's heard of the Frye twins' exploits to have a reasonable confidence in Jacob's abilities, but. Well. Two Assassins, both already tired and not at their best, up against a pack of the most bloodthirsty professional killers the Templars could find.

Not very good odds. He wonders, absently, what materials he's got left over in his bag, and if he could maybe make a car bomb out of them. Just in case.

He opens up Jacob's phone, dials Adé's number. It takes three times before he lets out a frustrated sigh.]

...hell, you're right, can't get a bloody thing through. Hiking, then?

[Oh there it is, Edward Kenway's desire to write things down. Jacob doesn't. Jacob doesn't bring a bag with him. He brings his phone, his blades, a gun tucked in the back of his jeans, and that's it. If they find you and they kill you, there's nothing on you that betrays anyone else. Ethan hammered that home very well.]

If Sigma turns up, we'll have to fight them with whatever we have left, hope their vehicle doesn't get damaged, and then steal it. And it's probably covered in trackers. I'd rather walk.

[It's probably what? No more than ten miles to the nearest village, and probably a lot less than that to a place with signal. Unfortunately, they are still too close to the Abstergo facility and that makes him unwilling to follow the roads on foot. That'll just make them far too easy to find.]

I know you're getting old but it's not that bad an option. Grab your shit, let's go.

What isn't covered in trackers these days?

[But Edward grabs his duffel bag and his canteen and makes a mental note to himself to apologize to Bonnet for losing his car. It should be fine, Bonnet's stupid amounts of rich, he can buy a new one without even blinking.

He passes Jacob's phone back over to him, then fishes out his old compass from a side pocket on his bag, flicks it open.]

Shut up, Frye, I'm not so old I can't beat you in a race. [He says, with Jenny about to take her A-levels.] I'll lead the way, I remember old Charlie Vane used to have a cabin in these mountains, somewhere around here. Might have signal there. [He pauses, then:] If not signal, then he would've most definitely stashed extra weapons and supplies there.

[And the man has long since passed, so it's not as if he can complain if Edward breaks in and steals a few of his prized pieces.]

Edited 2024-05-25 16:54 (UTC)

Couldn't tell you mate, but probably not this hunk of junk.

[Whether this Bonnet guy had money or not, he didn't maintain his car well enough if the battery was that close to failure. Says Jacob, who much prefers motorbikes and keeps one in a garage in the city, and takes care of it as his work allows.]

What sort of race? Because I'm pretty sure I could beat you in most.

[It's friendly, because he does like Kenway: he's rough around the edges, fast as a whip, a bloody brilliant assassin, and handsome. There's no problem with a bit of banter. Especially as they start to walk, he'll let Kenway pick a direction and keep pace with him. Thank fuck his boots are good for climbing and walking, and probably that makes them alright for hiking. ]

Wasn't Vane one of your Caribbean connections?

They call it “vintage” in certain circles and pay heaps of money for it.

[Probably not this model, though. It does, in fact, look like a hunk of junk.

With his bag slung over his shoulder, he says, dryly:] What, just because you’re young and spry? All that means is I’ve got more experience and therefore dirtier tricks up my sleeve than you do. [It’s nice, bantering with someone like Jacob. Reminds him of the old days, when Edward thought himself and his friends invincible too, the way only cocksure twentysomethings who are easy on the eyes and know it can. Two years before hitting forty with two kids to raise, it’s hard to remember that feeling.

God, it’s a good thing he wore his good work boots for this job. Now he remembers why hiking off the path is something he barely ever does these days.]

Yes. We used to smuggle weapons and supplies and whatnot, in and out of the Caribbean. I remember we’d come to Cardiff once to pick up some goods, but things went to shite fast [as they usually did around Charles Vane, as explosive as his temper was,] so he took me with him to his cabin for a couple days.

Do they? Is that the title of your OnlyFans?

[He laughs, looking at Kenway with a raised brow. He's pretty sure that he is spry, and he's younger, and he's got less to lose than Kenway, with his family blah blah blah. Jacob can afford to be a little less careful. He enjoys the thrill of life, the risk. ]

Wasn't that why they put us on this job together? You're meant to be teaching me those dirty tricks? That's the impression I was under.

[He can't help but be interested, as Kenway mentions his past. There's rumours and murmurings, because Kenway has that air about him amongst the younger assassins, ]

That was before you joined the Order, right?

No, that’s “captain of the striptease”.

[He doesn’t actually have an OnlyFans, but it’s very funny to casually say shit like this and watch the looks on people’s faces.

If he remembers things right, Vane had used to mark his way to his cabin with his initials carved into the trees. He slows his steps a tad and opens his Eagle Vision, catching a glimpse of a tree shaded in gold on the very edge of his periphery. Right, that’s important, he’ll go that way.]

What, and lose my advantage? Besides, from what I hear about you and your sister, you’ve probably already figured out ‘bout a quarter of those old tricks. [That’s really why Edward had put himself on this assignment. He’d wanted to get a better measure of Jacob, wanted to have a good idea what sort of person he’d be working alongside once he and the kids moved back to London more permanently. So far? Jacob is damned good at his job.

He shrugs.]

Yeah. I’d—known about the Assassins by then, even did some work for them, but I wasn’t about to join up. Thought they were a stuffy old bunch, all frowns and furrowed brows, but at least they paid well enough.

If I had signal, I'd look that up.

[ He says it without thinking and he doesn't much mind that he said it either, even if the little voice in his head that sounds like Evie tells him to tone it down. Behave. Don't lose this chance to learn from Kenway because your dick started thinking for you.

Besides- that rational voice says- they're on a job. Technically the mission is done but until they report back, then they're still working. And despite how amusing Kenway is, how quick and capable he is, he's Jacob's senior. With a daughter only three years younger than Jacob is. That's enough to cool anyone's libido.

He pauses when Kenway does, registering what the man is doing, and before he gets the chance to look using his own EV Kenway is walking again. Next time, he'll be quicker and catch sight of what the ex-pirate was looking out for, and then at least he can keep his eyes open for it as well.

Instead he shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and keeps pace. ]

With the state London was in? We had to pick up some tricks. Don't know if they're all the same as yours. Maybe some of them are better.

[Like befriending the Prime Minister's wife. That's been pretty beneficial. Getting involved with a Templar? Less so. But he'd left a lot about Roth out of the official reports. He just hopes no one had been reading between the lines.

He turns his attention back to Kenway, rather than thinking about the ghosts that haunt him.]

You aren't wrong about the Council. Boring old bast- I mean... ah, fuck it. You know what I mean. If I had the whole of the Caribbean to run around in, I don't think I'd have joined up.

[Not as if the Frye children had any choice. As soon as he could Ethan had started their training. As far as Jacob understands, the Kenway kids have at least had a more normal education, as far as possible. ]

Edited 2024-05-26 10:10 (UTC)

And subscribe, I’d hope.

[The flirty line is out of his mouth before he can really stop it. Goddammit, Kenway—he’s over a decade younger than you and your own daughter is three years younger than he is, don’t even think about it. And Edward does not want to make things awkward between himself and someone he’ll be working with on a more regular basis soon.

He looks back at Jacob, then slows his pace a little more to let him fall in beside him. This much isn’t a race—Vane’s cabin is some ways away, and he’s aware his own Eagle Vision might not catch a few things that Jacob’s probably can.]

Maybe. Have you got any rope darts? And I don’t mean your nifty gadget on your bracer, I mean like—the old sort, you have to throw ‘em yourself.

[As for the council, he chuckles a little.]

I told ‘em that too. Took ages for me to come around on them, but to be fair, Ah Tabai wasn’t the Council. He was a more reasonable fellow—stern, but he carried a hard-earned wisdom. When I joined up, I needed that. [If a younger Edward had to deal with the Council he never would’ve seen the point of the Creed. He’s…honestly not sure he’d let his own children join, either—he’ll teach them how to defend themselves, teach them the history, but this life he’s led…

It’s the last thing he wants for Jenny and Haytham. God, please, let them choose anything but this—anything but the danger of being an Assassin.]

Why’d you join?

In a heartbeat.

[The rational voice is telling him shut up shut up shut up over and over, but he feels like he's in a strange game of gay chicken. Not with Kenway, although the man is probably wondering what the next outrageous thing out of Jacob's mouth will be, but with himself. Probably should have stopped before he started, but the words are said now. Can't take them back.]

You mean a grapnel? No, not... [He pauses, looks down at the gauntlet and shrugs. The hooks aren't big, not like a real grappling hook, but they're strong despite that. And importantly, they and the length of super-strong wire do detatch quite easily for maintenance. So he does so, offering out both hook and spool.] Might work, depending on what you're planning?

[Jacob's only heard of Ah Tabai from the few reports and profiles he's been allowed access to. The twins are still young in their careers, still technically under the wing of Jayadeep Mir and George Westhouse. They don't get to meet senior assassins or speak to them much,despite what they've done in London. Although as they did that without council permission, they're probably being watched far more closely now.]

Yeah, but you'd already sailed the Caribbean and pissed off every government down there. You knew what you were about before then.

[Does Jacob sound a little jealous? Does he sound like stories and rumours about the gun-runner-turned-Assassin fuelled a lot of his desire to be an assassin too- a better assassins that his father, who made the Creed sound like a curse.

At Kenway's question, he shoots the man another look. Trying to be subtle, trying to make it seem like he's just keeping an eye on the surroundings. Does he tell the truth? Does he make something up? They aren't meant to lie but...]

I don't know how to do anything else. [A shrug. He's been in training since he was six. The option of any other life was never his to take.] Besides, I think if you tried to give me an office job I'd fuck off in five minutes flat.

Flatterer.

[Down, Kenway. Edward absently tucks a few stray strands of blonde hair back behind his ears, but his gaze flicks back to Jacob once he's offering out the hook and spool. He shakes his head.]

No, I meant—y'know, the really old sort of rope darts. Hang on, I've got some hidden away. [And he goes into one of the hidden pockets of his coat to tug out a sturdy-looking rope with a sharp metal dart tied to the end of it.] Though hang on to that, that'd work too. Friend of mine taught me to use these back in the Caribbean—you wait for someone to pass under you, then you throw it into their neck. When you drop from a branch, they go up.

It's not as useful in the city, [hence why Edward hadn't used one once during the mission,] but it's helped me thin out packs of guards in places like this.

[And Edward wonders why Sigma Team would love to see him dead, beyond the simple fact of him being an Assassin.]

Hell, no, I didn't know. I was just trying to get rich, we all were. [He pauses.] Really, I think Vane just wanted to watch the world burn, and I know that's what Standish wanted, but besides them. It was just about the money for me, at least at the start.

[And more than that, it was about his own overwhelming ambition, his desire to prove himself worthy of Caroline, of a title, of everything he thought he'd been denied back home. It's still there, now, but tempered by time and experience and trauma and the need to be a better man for his children. Ambition is all well and good—but it blinded him to the reality of the situation he was in until it was too late.

He goes quiet, then, looking at Jacob and feeling something twist inside his heart.]

...you'd cock up an office job in two minutes, tops. [To be fair, so would Edward.] But come on now, you run a gang, you've got connections in high places. An office job ain't all there is besides being an Assassin.

[God knows Edward would be deliriously happy if his kids decided to take office jobs.]

Just saying it as I see it.

[That little tuck of hair- is it a shy little gesture? He can't imagine Edward Kenway being coy or shy about anything, much less being hit on by a trash fire like Jacob. He can't help grinning at the possibility that he's made Edward Kenway go coy. That's a lifetime achievement.

He watches the man dig out of his own rope and hooks, giving them a professional examination. Those hooks are nasty, far more so than what exists in his own gauntlet. Which, as it doesn't seem needed right now, gets simply clicked back in place. ]

That's bloody nasty. A great counter balance, but still nasty.
[It's enough to make him rub at the back of his neck too, as if he can feel the hooks bite into his flesh.] But you couldn't really use it in the city- not enough big trees to hide bodies in. But maybe it'd work in a warehouse or factory. Somewhere with beams.

... Sometimes I'd agree with them. Some of this shit is too rotten to save. [But from what he's heard, Vane and Standish just wanted the chaos, not the fresh start. Not cutting out the rot to let the healthy stuff grow.

And as for money, Jacob doesnt much care for it. Its good to have to pay the Rooks, pay their medical bills, get them supplies. Its nice to be able to go buy a pint or take someone cute somewhere fun but truly? The Brotherhood supply him with what he needs, and what he wants isn’t something money can get him.]

Running a gang isn't something you can tell the careers advisor in school, you know? It's not something normal people do.

[He likes having the Rooks. It's not quite like having a ship and sailing the Caribbean but it's something as liberating. He can follow his own rules then, not the ones that the Creed dictates.

But just think how good life could be if you'd never heard of the Creed or the Templars or the fucking Isu. How normal his existence could be. ]

Edited 2024-05-26 15:09 (UTC)

The nastiness is the point. You're trying to scare a few of them into running away—the ones just there for their paychecks won't consider the money worth their lives.

[Some part of Edward still remembers the lessons he learned as a criminal, back in the day—what's most important is the display. Thatch had said it best: it's all just a show. Edward's willing to go further with it than most, but he has lines, and they're all the more iron-clad now that he's been an Assassin a while.

He shakes his head.]

Standish was a Sage who thought we were all better off under the rule of the Precursors and Vane had gone batty by the end of his life. I know what you mean, thinking that some things are too far gone and too rotten to save, but—

[He huffs out a breath.]

That just means you cut the rot out. You try to save what's left, and you pray to see it grow.

[God knows that Edward had been written off as too rotten to save, when he was younger, and it had only been Mary who'd hauled him out of the muck. Who'd seen something in him that was worth vouching for to her fellow Assassins, even when he was walking around with Duncan Walpole's IDs and Duncan Walpole's blade.]

Is that what you want? Normal? [There's no real judgment here. Edward loves his life, follows the Creed because he chose to follow it, but holy shit, what he wouldn't give for his children to live a normal life without all the dangers the work brings.] What do you think that looks like?

That makes sense. But I don't like letting any of the fuckers run away.

[Jacob understands, of course he does. Scare tactics are important. One day, his adoptive son will use them to great effect. But personally? Jacob likes to kill every single bastard that tries to kill him. Or hire them. The Rooks is, mostly, made up of people that did once have orders to kill the twins on sight.]

I don't know about the praying part, but I don't disagree with the rest. Even if the rot isn't Abstergo, you still take a knife to it. The Council just get... focused in. On Templars and the Isu, they miss the important stuff.

[Or maybe they only care about fighting Abstergo, he's not sure. But they left London to rot, and Jacob's not sure how that helped anyone.

He shakes his head when Kenway asks him if he wants to be normal, he knows that isn't right for him. Hell, he knows he'd probably end up on the wrong side of society anyway, but the point is, he didn't choose.

But to deflect away from the question and his answer, he laughs. It's not forced exactly. ]

I couldn't tell you what normal looked like if it ran over me.

[And then, thank fuck, he spots something as they pass it- initials carved into a tree.]

That what you were looking for before? Vane's initials?

I used to be one of those fuckers myself, before I met any Assassins at all. [It’s said mildly.] So. I like to think of it as giving them the same chance I got, if a bit more…graphically.

[And the ones left behind are often the true believers, so Edward can kill every last one of them with no regrets. Anyway, even if they don’t make as dramatic a change in course as Edward did, he’s seen a couple around sticking strictly to low-level crimes like pickpocketing or conning people. So his little scare tactic works well enough.

The Templars are one thing. The Isu…Edward thinks again of Standish, the madness in the man’s mismatched eyes as he shot his own loyal crew dead. He shivers.]

Yeah, the Council tends to get—a very bad case of tunnel vision. I don’t blame them, this fight’s been going for a long time, but I’ve had to give them hell more than once for focusing so much on getting to Isu artifacts first before the Templars that they forget why no one ought to have them. [This is one of the hardest lines Edward’s got. No one should use the Precursors’ leftovers, especially without understanding the cost of that power.

It’s why he’s not said shit even to the Council about the Shroud of Eden tucked in a safe in his basement, hidden away in a corner. One day, he’ll see that thing buried deep underground, unknown and forgotten, and he’ll rest easy then.]

Tell you the truth, Frye, I don’t think anybody could. Thing about normal is it shifts faces every so often. [This he says while hoping his children get to live normal, safe lives. He’s still a hypocrite, in some ways.] But like. If you retired from the Brotherhood tomorrow—would you still want to run that gang? Would you want to do something else? You’re young, mate, it’s not too late to—

[Jacob interrupts him then, and his eyes flick to the tree, and to Vane’s initials carved into it. He steps closer and traces his fingers over it, huffs out a sad and tired sigh.]

…yeah. Yeah, it’s his initials, all right. Cabin’s still a ways off, but it’s this way. [pointing somewhere off to the west or so.] I wonder if Anne still drops by—Rackham used to be Vane’s second before he mutinied, and he would’ve known ‘bout this place. I can’t see him not showing it to Anne, he was always trying to impress her.

You're clearly a kind man despite the graphic demonstration. [He grins, bright and flirtatious as he adds:] How good were you at fighting Assassins back then, out of curiosity?

[It's a war that's been going on hundreds and hundreds of years, like a tug of war no one is winning.]

No one should have them. But Evie has it in her head that we should and she's sure there's at least one in London. If I find it before she does, I'm getting a flight to Iceland and tossing it in a volcano.

[Of course that is not the party line. If Edward reports that, let's on that Jacob would do something like that... well it's probably Jacob that will end up in a volcano.

When the ex-pirate says that,asks if Jacob would continue with the Rooks, he's honestly a little bit shocked.]

You wouldn't abandon your crew
I won't abandoned my gang.

[He'd think Kenway would be pleased that Jacob had spotted another sign but the sad noise that he makes says otherwise. He reaches up, touches the older man's shoulder.]

Maybe. If she's up there, she'll probably have a car. You can have a reunion and we get back to civilisation.

Kind's subjective. [He does pause a moment at the question, debating with himself over whether he should say that he killed quite a few Assassins, before he says:] Well enough to survive running into a whole group of them on a mission, just the one time.

[Which had been a very good reason why so many Assassins had wanted him dead when he'd visited their secret compound, only to be stopped by Mary vouching for him.]

You do that, I'll cover for you. [He might even hand him an extra Piece before the flight takes off. No one ought to have these artifacts, really—wait, hang on, did he say an artifact in London? Edward thinks furiously back, and strangles a horrified curse right in his throat when he realizes: he'd buried another artifact in London a few years back, after coming back from a mission that had gone straight to shit. Right in the Tower, in fact. That crescent moon-shaped Piece of Eden that had been in Cebu—

Don't think about it, Kenway. Likely he means some other Piece of Eden, god knows the Templars have their hands on a few of them already.]

Then there you go. If ever you decide to leave the Brotherhood, you've already got a fallback plan, and from what I hear, you do it wonderfully.

[A breath. He leans a bit into the touch, before abruptly pulling away, the briefest flash of grief written across his face before it's gone in a flash.]

Maybe. Or else she's already visited and restocked the old place, in which case we can raid it for supplies. She won't mind so long as she knows it's me that did the raiding.

Edited 2024-05-27 15:18 (UTC)

Right- you're kinder than a lot of people I've met, happy about the clarification?

[Honestly Kenway. True, hooking people by the neck and hauling them up like the carcasses in a butcher's window isn't nice, but letting the idiots go that were just in it for the paycheque? Kinder than Jacob most of the time.

Assassins die all the time. It's what they do, what they all understand will happen. Jacob's made peace with it. But they're also trained to take as many of the other side out with them as they can, so the fact that Kenway, uninitiated, untrained, killed so many? That's impressive. And hot. ]

Don't fancy coming along? The bars in Reykjavík are meant to be something else.

[But it's probably smart not to risk it. Edward has family, he has good standing now with the Council. He's helping train new assassins. Even though Jacob makes it sound like a fun boy's weekend, they both know that is not what it would be.]

Well, there's a spot open for my second, if you feel like throwing in the gauntlet too. There's no such thing as a retired assassin, and London isn't exactly short on crime to keep us busy.

[It's there and gone before Jacob can really see it, never mind process it. But there's something about Kenway that makes him realise there's more to this whole Anne thing than he realises, and he lets his hand drop. Ex-girlfriend? Current girlfriend? He's not totally sure. But he gets the message.]

I'll let you pocket what you fancy then. Don't think I want her coming after me.

Damn near ecstatic.

[He’s still floored he managed to make it out of that one confrontation alive. A lot of other people around him did not. He supposes he ought to feel more regretful now of having killed a lot of Assassins even just that one time, but they were also trying to kill him, so he doesn’t feel that guilty about it. He likes being alive.]

I could, but then I’d run the risk of missing some occasion important to my children. And Jenny would string me up by my little toes if I did.

[This is only slightly an exaggeration of what Jenny Scott would do if her father missed anything hugely important to her. Edward doesn’t give half a shit what the Council thinks, but boy does he care what his children think.]

I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever feel like retiring. But I ain’t done with the Brotherhood yet, nor will I be done any time soon. [He’s been an Assassin for long enough that the Creed has seeped down to the very core of him. He can’t really ignore the responsibility of it, anymore.

He trudges on forward, occasionally dipping into Eagle Vision to orient himself towards the next tree bearing Vane’s initials. Idly, he says:]

She would come after you, if you weren’t with me. We worked together back in the bad old days—she was a right terror on the high seas, and so was Mary. [It’s clearer now what this grief is for: the long-dead, the ghosts still lingering in his memory. He and Anne were never romantic, but there’s a bond they share for being two of the very tiny number of survivors of their old gangs, their old crews.

It’s also the same reason why they and Bonnet don’t tend to meet up often, not all together at the same time in the same place. Just once, every year.]

She’d like you, though, ol’ Anne Bonny. Got a fondness for the fighters and the charmers.

Edited 2024-05-28 01:11 (UTC)

I've heard she's a fierce one, your daughter. [But Jacob was just enough years older to never have hung out with her. All he knows is second hand.] Pity though. She's old enough to let you have a lad's weekend off once in a while.

[Of course the little boy Kenway has probably isn't- but Jacob knows nothing about that kid apart from he has a bloody stupid name.]

No, neither am I. Can't unknown what we know, can't leave it alone now.

[Which is how the assassins get you but the short and curlies. If you've got any moral compass at all, you stay and you try to help. Jacob doesnt think he has a very strong moral compass, but he doesn't actually want innocent people to suffer or lose their agency. He can't walk away from this war.]

Now you make it sound fun, Kenway. Who doesn't want to be chased by an older woman?

[He raises a brow, grin cheeky and flirtatious if only to try and lighten the mood, to stop Kenway sinking into memories of what has been lost, what can never be again.]

Maybe you should give me her number. Or you know, just tell her it was me that took her pickles.

Oh, fierce is putting it lightly, she's a spitfire and a half, [and the less said about the arguments they've gotten into over possibly letting her start training early, the better,] and this is my weekend off. She and Haytham are at my ex's.

[It's not a stupid name, he'll maintain, because he found it from a dusty old record belonging to a Hidden One long, long ago, and anyway Haytham is a perfectly good variation of Hytham, thanks.]

That Creed does have a way of pricking at one's conscience, doesn't it. [If you let it in, anyway. That's how the Assassins get you—all subtle-like, until you can't quite ignore what their creed implies, what it means for you personally and how your actions affect those around you. It's why Edward's stayed around, despite his own arguments with the Council—he believes in the creed that they espouse, with all his heart, and its ideals of freedom for all.

He snorts out a laugh. Mood successfully lightened.]

Is that your type? Older women who could break you over their knee? I'm a bit heartbroken, I thought we had something rather special going. [He's teasing. And flirting a little bit, despite his own better judgment. Adé would judge him so hard for this.]

Like father, like daughter. I can't imagine being g told no would stop anyone with Kenway blood.

[Yeah she probably went behind his back to start training. Determined kids will do that, and Jacob won't share what rumours and school gossip he did hear about Jennifer and Leaps of Faith.

And Kenway can say what he likes, it's a silly name. It's now silly and old. But hey, that's okay, it's not Jacob's name.]

Yeah. Gets right under your skin and then you can't get out. You're stuck with the knowledge of how the whole world around you is a lie, and everyone is being manipulated. [Ethan tried to teach them the Creed. Evie knows it by heart, probably in several languages other than English and Arabic, but Jacob... yeah. He gets the jist of it. The bones. But mostly, he acts on his own moral compass. People should be free. That's important, and it's worth fighting for.]

Older men too. [He clarifies, lips forming a suggestive smirk as he looks at Kenway, those dark eyes going up and down the other man (as they have been most of the mission, but now he's not even attempting to hide it).] When I might die tomorrow, I don't see much point in limiting myself.

[And if that's too far, knowing Edward Kenway's reputation, he's going to regret it. But probably not as much as he regretted Roth. So it's win-win, really. ]

Edited 2024-05-29 21:29 (UTC)