Call me Ego

Diego Velazquez 25 - Twin Mechanic @ Fallcrest Auto Ice & Water Elemental Witch "Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure." - Steven king

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

corruptedgraphicscard:

“Thank you, I put work into earning that title…the hardest part was the Nerd bit,” she replied back, her humor so dry it might be considered best when accompanied by a drink…or two. It wasn’t that the seer didn’t know how to have fun, it just so happened that straight humor was just what worked with her naturally sarcastic personality. It could be argued it was the only straight thing that worked with her, and it would likely be accurate. “I could have, but one of the first things you learn as a cop in a small-town where everyone knows your name is that calls can easily be avoided. Besides, Avesta doesn’t know where she stands with most businesses half the time, so I’m pretty sure she sent me because she figured you wouldn’t be able to be a douchecanoe to me…joke’s on her, I guess,” Kieran said with a small shrug. She didn’t expect Ego to be an asshole, but she also grew up with him and knew what to expect. His not-so-subtle attempt at getting a ride-along invite pulled a genuine laugh out of her, small snort and all. “Alright, alright, you caught me. Graveyard shift patrols get so lonely, I was hoping the company of a strapping young man could ease my nerves,” she shot back.

A hand came up to rub at the back of her neck awkwardly, the seriousness of the topic they’d just broached not lost on her even though the proper words to address the matter certainly were. Heaving a small sigh, her hand stilled resting on the nape of her neck as she glanced up at her friend and just said, “She doesn’t really, you know, talk to me anymore…at least- at least not the way she used to. It’s like when she just stopped communicating with me while I was away, that was it. It just never really started proper again….if I’m making any sense…”

“Please, you couldn’t escape your nerdisms if you tried,” Ego said, pressing a bit further before he lightened up, “they’re like, my favorite part about you.” That was the truth, strip away the layers of sarcasm and the humor that was dryer than drywall, and there was a person who was completely genuine. Perhaps it helped that they had known each other for as long as they had, they were both comfortably simply shrugging off each other’s little quirks because at the end of the day it always came from a place of love and respect. “That’s true, speaking as someone who maybe potentially once knew someone, hypothetically, who was possibly a retired professional crank caller I can verify that is 100% accurate.” Ego said, probably having called every establishment in Fallcrest asking if they had a See-More-Butts present. “Some people say that for a douchecanoe, I can be quite charming,” Ego smiled, probably not counting Sheriff Avesta or Kieran among those people, law enforcement types and a glib attitude generally didn’t go together well. “Well gee, guess I have no choice but to go along for the ride.”

The tone of their conversation shifted from lighthearted to serious, it wasn’t really Ego’s nature but when it came to his sister he cared more than he could really say. “I know what that’s like,” he shrugged noncommittally, they’d drifted apart in senior year and the twins had never really been able to bridge the gap that had, over time, formed between them. They had their moments, for sure, but the disaster twins had never quite been the same. If there was anyone he was rooting for though, it was Kieran, Ren was crazy and passionate and wild and Kieran was down to earth, intelligent and forward thinking. In different ways they were good for each other. Ego knew how hard it could be to open-up really to anyone, he lived in a perpetual state of comedy because anything else, anything real was terrifying. “She’s stubborn, and kinda going through a lot, I think it means a lot to her that you’re still trying – even if it’s impossible for her to say outloud.”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

xdcvilwithinx:

“Please take your time,” Evan called out, slight panic on her features. “The last thing I need is for you to forget that pants exist in your rush,” she mumbled to herself once the’d disappeared back into the garage. She went ahead and stepped outside to wait for him, getting a glimpse of what could amount to the human equivalent of the Tazmanian Devil… When he finally seemed to slow-down, she replied “Black 2010 Kia Soul. And the dude’s only looking for like two grand, so I’m definitely a little wary.” Out of habit, she glanced around to ensure that there weren’t others around -which at this time of day, in this part of town, it wasn’t likely- and added, “I honestly wouldn’t even be considering a car if it weren’t that it’s become rather inopportune to just shimmer everywhere…”

“That was literally one time,” Ego stated in mock-offense as he finished getting ready and went out to meet up with Evan again. He had to admit, she was right to be skeptical, it was entirely possible that this person had no idea what the value of their car was, but there was a multitude of reasons for why someone might want to sell their car for half of its worth. “Probably stolen,” Ego joked, though there was an air of truth to his words, “you definitely came to the right place, a little disappointed in your soccer-mom-esque choice in vehicle, but I promise I’ll only make fun of you for it like... Once a week or something,” Ego said easily, “you know, if you end up buying it.” He added lightly as he habitually followed her lead and checked for any stray passerby, he had a bad habit of using his magic without discretion, particularly after the events that had transpired over the holidays. 

“Yeah I mean, if I were you I’d probably never walk anywhere but I could see how that’d be a bit conspicuous, probably still cooler than crawling out of faucets and toilets,” Ego was referring to a particularly useful spell that allowed him to essentially liquefy and enter bodies of water, he’d performed it a few times as a means of escaping tight situations, but weaving your way through sewage in a watery state was about as fun and appealing as it sounded. “Where is this car thief anyways?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

flxrenciavelazquez:

“Maybe I should just find a job where I won’t have to deal with people so that I won’t lose a few more years just raging against them or something.” And it didn’t help that the only thing she was confident by this point was her bartending skills. She really wanted to stay away from that to make her life easier. To constantly serve liquor but not able to have any for herself was brutal. Ren’s will wasn’t that strong to begin with. 

“I’d be someone up with it, maybe I should be a bouncer at the club. Just toss people’s ass out or something.” She snorted, “They’ll never see it coming because I’m not one of those bigger guys.” Honestly though, she might draw in more trouble then solving them so it probably wasn’t the best idea either. “Inventory.. You want me to do inventory?” She huffed as she listened to him more; he was right, life was short and this definitely wasn’t what she wanted. But it wasn’t permanent so maybe she’ll just be doing this for short-term until something better comes along? That was what she said when she first started bartending, and then it had been years.

“Hmm” Ego racked his brain trying to think of a job where human interaction was at its most minimal, there was the vet’s office but generally they wanted someone with some qualifications. There was the library but books were quite flammable, so that was also a no go to Ego. “You could start a business?” Ego cautioned, “if ass-kickin’ is a viable business option.” he mused slightly, “I’m sure there’s more places than just clubs and bars that need security, and you could definitely lay out any fool they put you up against.” Intentionally putting her in situations where there might be confrontation was also not the smartest plan, girl needed to learn control and he didn’t know what could help with that.

“It’s not all that important, I mean, yeah work is work is work and the bills gotta get paid but if things get bad we could ask Mom for help,” he fiddled with a stray piece of string that was coming out of his jumpsuit as he chose his next words carefully, not big on heartfelt moments and not really good with his words, Ego needed to use some degree of caution. “Your problems are going to be your problems wherever you go, it’s good that you’re sober, and I fucking love you for taking this shit seriously but like... Maybe you should talk to someone? Like a counselor or something? I’ll even go with you if you want but there’s gotta be a way to like...break the cycle, ya know?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

thyraronningen:

“It takes practice, I think. I probably wouldn’t be this flexible if it weren’t for my parents. They take exercise very seriously.” That was one way of putting it, “Self defence and all of that so flexibility really does help out in that aspect. Have you tried doing yoga?” It wasn’t for everyone; even Thyra was bored with it when she first attempted it. Then hot yoga happened. Who knew it could be this strenuous? 

The thought of him doing yoga was pretty comical, he imagined bending a certain way and then just becoming petrified in that position until the end of time. “Can’t say that I have but, you make it look pretty easy,” Ego said easily, he could only imagine how Ren would laugh at him if she ever caught him doing yoga in their living room.

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

athenaxrendall:

Athena let out a loud noise. “Yes.” She laughed. “Sorry, I am so hungry and I love the Morning Buzz.” She started driving in the direction of the restaurant. “So, Ego. What made you want to become a mechanic?” She asked him. “What screamed, I’m going to work on cars for the rest of my life.” She laughed again. “Okay maybe not the rest of your life but, for right now.” 

He’d been going to the Cafe for as long as he could remember, one of his earliest memories was a big stack of pancakes that his Dad let him eat all to himself. Ego shrugged as a light smirk played across his lips, his eyes moving for a moment to the side mirror as he watched the road disappear behind them - his gaze again towards Athena. “Same, seriously the best burgers on the planet.” Ego breathed easily, she seemed pretty cool - even if he felt there was a slight undertone of criticism towards his career path. “I dunno,” Ego shrugged, “I was setup with a scholarship to play football out of state but,” he thought for a moment to the months of recovery that had followed his injury and the years of PT that had followed that. “things didn’t really pan out, an old friend of my Dad’s owns the shop and I had kinda always been hanging around, I loved fixing things, loved tinkering with engines. Being a mechanic just... seemed a good fit I guess?” Ego had rambled a bit, as he tended to do, but Athena didn’t look too bored so he hoped she didn’t think any less of him. “What about you?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

atticusfinchie:

 “I have like, a stupidly extensive knowledge on Disney movies. Go ahead, ask me anything. I bet I can answer it.”

“In Peter Pan, which of Captain Hook’s hands were replaced with a hook? His left, or his right?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

thyraronningen:

It was such a lovely day outside so it was pretty lucky of her to manage to get the day off from the hotel. She didn’t hate her job but sometimes, dealing with guests gave her headaches to a level of severity that she never knew of. Just once in a while, she needed a little breather and to take advantage of the weather, Thyra could be seen in the middle of the park doing yoga. It was relaxing, an exercise she could take her time with. She was so focused on herself that she wasn’t at all wary of anyone around her. An amateur mistake especially for her, but having stayed in Fallcrest overtime had built enough trust to relax in the middle of the town.

Ego had been working on overdrive lately, well, despite the high volume the shop was dealing on the daily, he’d managed to keep up. Essentially, Ego had earned the afternoon off and he intended to take advantage of the day. Headphones in, Ego rode his board through the streets with a sort of lazy ease about him, cutting through the path in the park he wasn’t the only person out and about. There were families with the little kids, friends, lovers, random ladies doing that kinda crazy stretching in the grass. Great sights to behold one and all, it was nice, seemed like everyone in the town was taking advantage of the nice weather. He hopped off his board, intent to catch some rays when he met the bending ladies’ eye, “I don’t know how you do that stuff, I’d seriously like break... I don’t know, probably everything.” Not a stranger to broken bones, he didn’t really see how that could be relaxing.

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

flxrenciavelazquez:

“I like getting massages, but I don’t want to be a masseuse.. Rubbing my hands on old fuckers is gross as hell…” She had enough physical contact with people from working at the bar. One would think people would leave her alone since all she had to do was make drinks, but some people were annoyingly handsy. It had been a topic that came up between Kieran and her, and she was sure that Diego would agree with their mutual friend, but the female twin was not in the mood to get into this. Besides, she wasn’t there at the bar anymore so it wouldn’t matter now.

“I know nothing about cars. You exaggerated but mine’s non-existant.” She sighed, “I don’t even know who’d hire me.” It was amazing that the bar had kept her onboard for so long considering her personality. Another heavy sigh escaped her as she rested her forehead against her knees. “This is such a pain in the ass.”

“To each his own,” Ego joked, shrugging noncommittally, the thought of Ren working in a massage parlor had been an obvious joke – not only did it require a great deal of physical contact, but Ego imagined that people could be chatty when they were on the table and ‘chit chat,’ among other things, wasn’t a strong suit of Ren’s. He’d actively avoided the bar when Ren was working, he knew his sister could hold her own, but if he saw some douche acting a fool then Ego couldn’t really consider himself accountable for his actions. His reaction was bad enough when he saw one stranger harassing another, having it be a family member would just be tossing gasoline into the fire.

“I mean, obviously they wouldn’t hire you on as a mechanic – no offense or anything, but I’ve seen what you can do with a wrench in your hand.” Ego laughed, “But there are a lot of odd jobs that need to be done around the shop. There’s inventory, invoicing – which is basically just calling people and telling them to pay their fucking bill already. We have about a billion cars in the scrapyard that need to be gutted, doesn’t really require a light touch. Even if you wanted to do a couple hours a week like, at least it’s something, you know?” Ego added, he felt bad and absently wished there was more he could do – Ren was all but disintegrating in front of him. He pulled up a chair beside her and leaned back somewhat lazily with his arms folded behind his head while she buried herself in her knees. His eyes drifted up to the ceiling, transfixed to the dusty fan that spun above them. “It’s a small-town dude, if you ask around there’s bound to be someone that will hire you on. Obviously, it blows but like…” He sighed a deep sigh to compliment her own, trying his damndest to organize his thoughts, “Life’s too short, you know?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

georgiaxcarver:

Georgia was happy she had run nto someone so seemingly friendly agt the bar. the reception desk at the station sometimes got really broring, expecially when all her favourite co-workers were out on duty. “Ego… that’s a unique name. Short for anything?” she asked, curious. “And no, not long, probably only around two months now? You?”

Ego had a pretty shortlist of hobbies/interests. Anything related to COD, anything related to WOW, anything that runs on an engine, and then his favorite, talking to pretty ladies. Or, pretty anyone really, but Ego had always found that women were much easier to talk to than men. Something about macho-aggro-bs constantly getting in the way. “Oh yeah, Diego, my kid sister couldn’t say Diego so Ego kind of stuck I guess, but like... Only my Nonna calls me Diego and when she does it’s usually something like,” Ego hunched down slightly and scrunched his face, doing a well-rehearsed impersonation of his grandmother. 

“Diego, cierra la boca! ¡Siéntate! ¡Y actúa según tu edad!”  Diego, close your mouth! Sit down! And act according to your age! He wagged his finger as if he were chastising a small child and laughed easily as he did before he sat up straight-ish, taking another sip of his beer. “So you know, just call me Ego,” he added before gesturing for another drink. “Born and raised, is Fallcrest all you hoped it would be?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

athenaxrendall:

Athena chuckled. “All men aren’t the worst, just a few of the ones that come into the bar.” She shrugged. “I’m used to it. I have brothers.” She turned on the car and shrieked. “This is awesome. My car hasn’t sounded this good since I bought it!” She clapped and smiled at him. She put the car in reverse and made her way out of the garage. “So, Ego?” She half-asked. “Where am I taking us?” 

Guys like the ones Athena described inherently rubbed Ego the wrong way, the slight irritation probably showed on his face but he was characteristically quick to cover the fact up with an easy-going smile. “I pity the fool that crosses you, guys like that give the town a bad rep.” Ego said easily, he and his sisters could be merciless towards one another so somehow he didn’t doubt that the woman could handle herself when it came to rowdy and obnoxious douche-nozzels. Ego knew he had done a good job, but the gratification was nice and the scream of joy he’d earned only deepened the widening smile on his lips, blushing slightly at the compliment. “Yeah, I’m pretty great,” Ego shrugged, acting nonchalant as if he wasn’t currently beaming.  are you down for the Morning Buzz? I could kill for a burger right now. Maybe a milkshake if you’re ballin’.”

[riickgrimes]

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

georgiaxcarver:

Georgia looked at the man beside her. The face was familiar, but not one she knew the name to. His smile was bright though, and it lit Georgia up as she watched the bartender pour a beer for her alongside her shot. Quickly, she downed the patrone, and picked up the beer moments later. “There’s no point in not starting off with a wine when I just want to get drunk,” she shrugged, a playful smile tugging at her lips. “And yeah, I work at the Sherriff’s department. Just at reception, though, so no, as much as I would love for this to be a stakeout, it’s just a get-drunk-after-a-long-day-at-work kind of night,” she said. “I’m Georgia.”

He was kind of glad that Georgia wasn’t a cop, police officers made him nervous, like what if he accidentally committed a crime? Boom! Arrested. That’s not how he liked his nights to go. “I can respect that,” Ego said easily, quickly downing the shot before turning his attention back to his beer, and the woman that sat next to him. “Relatable,” Ego shrugged, a smile quick to form on his lips, “I’m Ego, have you been in town long?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

flxrenciavelazquez:

“Are they?” She hummed while her hands dropped to her feet and started playing with her shoelaces, casually twirling and untwirling them around her finger. “I don’t know.. What do they want? Bartenders?” Should she even attempt that position again? Even though she had been doing well with her avoidance of alcohol, didn’t mean that she enjoyed doing so. Ren would love to pour herself a glass of scotch again just to be relieved of reality. 

“I guess I could try it out.” Ren thought about the club as well, but more so of an offer than a former owner had suggested to her. However, she doubt that it was no longer valid since he left swiftly afterwards. There weren’t many things that the witch was good at, or at least, that was what she thought about herself. “Radcliffe and do what? Customer service really isn’t my forte…Maybe I should just chill here and help out or something.” As if she knew anything about automobiles. “Don’t sweat so much over it, Eggie. I’ll figure something out.”

Ego shrugged in response, he didn’t really know what they were looking for to be perfectly honest, but all their positions except for maybe management were entry level. He thought on it for a moment, Ren’s previous experience could probably get her a job that wasn’t behind the bar, but it would take some charm and ‘charming’ wasn’t exactly a trait that people often associated with his twin.

“They have a spa I think, you could be like… a masseuse, give tired housewives and househusbands the old rub down” Ego winked as he laughed, it probably wasn’t the time or place for jokes, but he compensated for pretty much everything with humor – besides, he fucking missed his sister. “I know you will dude, if you’re down the owners would probably go for it if. An extra set of hands wouldn’t be the worst thing around here, I greatly exaggerated my skill level so I’m kind of in over my head on the daily.”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

athenaxrendall:

Athen turned when she saw the mechanic opening the side door flew open. “Hey.” She replied with a smile. “Thank you so much for this, I really appreciate it.” She reached out and grabbed her keys from him. She was just about to turn around when he mentioned food. Athena was hungry and it was the least she could do, after all, he did fix her car. 

Athena smiled at him. “Absolutely. Want me to drive?” She asked him. “I could really eat. My work was super busy tonight and I kept getting hit on.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, though. Let’s go.” She replied, walking over to her car. 

People were always coming to him for favors, usually it was an oil change or a tire rotation, but Ego could easily chalk all this up to his good deed for the day. Plus, the way Athena smiled at him kind of made the whole thing worth it. “It’s all good,” Ego shrugged somewhat lazily, he was tired and wit wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but he was incredibly thankful that she was willing to grab a bite to eat.

“Yeah that’s probably for the best,” he gestured with a tilt of his head towards the motorbike parked in front of the shop, it wasn’t the most glamorous mode of transportation, but it was one of the few things in his life that were 100% his. “Ugh I know, men are the worst,” Ego joked as he slid into the passenger seat, he couldn’t really relate, but he made a mental note to not add to her list of frustrations. “Do they give you much of a hard time?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

georgiaxcarver:

Georgia had been sitting at her desk all day, the hours ticking by slower than ever when the phone barely ringing at the Sherriff’s all day. She guessed technically you could call that a good thing, but when she had nothing to do, Georgia got bored. So when she finally got out for work, she threw her bag in her car and raced home to change into something a little less work appropriate and a little more scandalous. 

Locking the door of her apartment behind her, she made her way downstairs and started walking to the Canopy Club to let herself go a little bit. She smiled as she made her way inside, beelining it straight to the bartender. 

“I’ll have a shot of patrone and…. whatever they’re having,” she smiled pointing to the person next to her.

Ego had had an exceptionally shitty day, not that he was one to complain but the shop seriously needed to hire on some more mechanics. It was getting to be a bit of a drag, something he’d once loved doing – working on cars – was becoming a daily chore that he kind of dreaded. After a long week, he could only surmise that what he needed even more than a World of Warcraft bender was a stiff drink.  Ego ignored texts from his friends inviting him to this party or that, not really interested in getting sucked in to whatever they were bound to get up to this weekend.

He’d ended up at the bar of the Canopy Club, resigned to just have a few drinks and then head home, possibly even hitting the hay at a reasonable hour. It wasn’t unusual to run into someone he knew, Ego had been born and raised in this town, and knowing just about everyone came with the territory. He glanced over at the mention of patrone, a smile easily forming on his lips at the tenacious woman, “that’s one way to kick off the night,” Ego mused as he gestured to the bartender to make it two before he took a swig of his beer. “You work at the Sheriff’s Department, right?” Ego asked, suddenly glad for the social interaction, his mind firmly off the engine he’d been all but buried in all night. “I’m Ego,” he extended his free hand towards the woman, glad that his company happened to be a pretty redhead.  “So is this like… a stakeout or something?”

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

corruptedgraphicscard:

“Hey, that’s Deputy Nerd to you,” she shot back, though not entirely sure if she was making better or worse. Kieran liked to think that sarcasm was like second-languages to her sometimes, but when it came to conversing with anyone in the Velazquez clan -from Mama Velazquez to Steve- she found herself questioning her wit….among many other aspects of her life. She shook her head a bit to re-focus, catching his response and sending him a very unimpressed look before he added the information she needed. “Excellent! I’m on patrol tomorrow and was not looking forward to having to use my own car for that,” the deputy confessed. Granted, she was sure no one in town likely wanted nor needed that.

Kieran would’ve probably looked clearly impressed at the ease with which he was able to slip the question out there, if it weren’t for the fact that the topic of the question itself almost reflexively made her features take on a look of confliction. “Not really, no. She came over the day after the Spring Festival, we argued over whether she was sick or not -she was- and that was it. You?”

"Oh right, of course, Deputy Nerd To You." Ego smiled, Kieran was always a good sport when it came to any teasing, some families sat down and had family time and lighthearted conversations about their days and hopes and dreams and blah blah blah. It was a bit different in the Velazquez house, well, it was a lot different. The teasing came from a place of love, and the yelling was just another way of saying I love you. "You know, you could've just called..." Ego teased, they even had these crazy inventions called cellphones now. "or is this your way of being subtle and asking me to come for a ride along tomorrow?" Ego threw his hands up in mock surrender, not-so-secretly always wanting to run a police siren. "As it turns out, you're in luck, I have tomorrow night off." 

It sounded like Ren had been doing a bang-up job of keeping to herself, Ego had hoped she'd maybe mentioned to Kieran if she'd found a job or how her general state of mind was doing but this was Ren that Ego was talking about. "Yeah that sounds about right." Ego said easily, he'd have to talk to his sister eventually, at some point he'd stopped trying to pick up the pieces. There was something to be said about the twins and their innate stubbornness.

[diegoxvelazquez-blog]

xdcvilwithinx:

Evan glanced up at the sound of the familiar voice. “Normally I’d have a witty response that amounted to ‘no’, but as it turns out Dude Ren, today I think you just might,” she quipped, a smirk firmly in place. “Or at the very least I hope you can,” Evan clarified, “I’m looking to buy a car from someone in town and I was hoping you’d be up for a mini-adventure to give it the Ego-Seal-of-Approval before I hand over any of my cash monies. What do you say? I’ll throw in food…”

If there was anything Ego enjoyed even more than fixing cars, it was absolutely buying cars, and being one of only a handful of mechanics in town, his friends always seemed to come to him for this particular kind of favor. A grin covered his face immediately, "fucking rights I do." Ego said, the promise of food was an added benefit because as it turned out he was pretty much always hungry. "Just give me like..." Ego started backing towards the shop, ready to jump out of the jumpsuit he was wearing, "two minutes and I'll close up." He changed, cleaned his hands, and was closing the doors to the garage with no small degree of enthusiasm when he caught Evan's eye, "So what kind of car is it?"