there's a mingling of brows as that familiar cadence washes over him , like warm water in a much needed shower , the kind that seems to soothe aching muscles . he shouldn't , but his mind strays , to envelope it , to welcome the sound deeper . his gaze shifts , seeks out luca , then the smile blooms upon his features , a brilliance of whitened teeth . ❝ does it? ❞ his question is a mix of feigned innocence and amusement ; he knows the cost of the outfit , from head to toe , how it could pay a number of rent cheques . ❝ if my sister hadn't insisted , i think i would have ruined the vibe of this place . ❞ his words brought forth images of what he would have preferred to wear ; his birthday suit had been mentioned , but there were kids in attendance , so he had fully committed to the shark onesie that he had received as a birthday gift one year --- his sister had shot that down immediately . ❝ you missed a very important announcement , that this year , they've shut the doors to weirdos who carry unwrapped candies in their pockets . security is probably already sniffing around for you . ❞ he tries to remain serious , but cian is as unserious as a clown at a funeral , and he dissolves into a deep laugh .
casual isn't the word most would use to describe him - insouciant would work best and it's never bothered luca, who's danced his way through life and looked for the joy in things, but around cian… it's funny, but cian grounded him, caused him to stick in place, and luca could never tell if he was hitting the right note or not. second guessing himself wasn't something that luca was used to, and yet being around cian made him feel as if he was standing in a spot light and at risk of hitting the wrong note, standing in the wrong place or having the wrong tone. for as easy and uncomplicated as things once were with cian, now it's different, not it's all a test. "well, maybe i should just plant some in the open handbags of unsuspecting ladies. no one will find me that way," luca quips, grinning. he's never been too serious and that works out well around someone like cian, it even feels amplified. "figures that i'd miss all the exciting announcements because i haven't heard anything interesting here. the mayor won't show up, the wine isn't great, and it seems like there's some kind of private party going on in the house that i'm not invited to. is there anything exciting going on here?"
Elena chuckled as she listened to the rant unfolding, pleasantly surprised to find herself agreeing. Now, she wasn’t going to say no to the food they were serving. Some of it was nice, but he did have a point. Nothing was quite as nice as the food of someone with generations worth of family recipes. “Don’t have to convince me. I’d take that any day over this.” Her eyes drifted over the food. “It’s not bad but it’s not homemade, is it?”
The brunette took a step closer, trying to eye the other side of the buffet table. “Not just church ladies, though. That kind elderly neighbour can hit the spot just right with her cooking as well. Nothing better than that, something made with the right ingredients.” Love, patience, time, effort. ❧ @intentionpaved
"it's food meant to be fancy and meant to make people feel important because they're spending money on it. have you seen the prices on those deconstructed meals? people say it's so you can better appreciate the flavors, but it sounds like bullshit to me." nearby, he saw a woman cast him an askance look, but eli ignored her. even though they were at the mayor's party and it was upper class, eli had a feeling it wasn't his language as much as his accent that was getting him the look.
"you have one of those?" he asked, dropping his voice some. "haven't had one of those in a while. but i have some friends that i drop food off to when i grill. not even close to the same thing, not that same kind of home comfort, but it's still free food." and free food was always good to have.
Location: Metal Gear Mechanic
Status: Closed @intentionpaved (Eli)
Brooklyn had driven the car she boosted for their next heist into the garage. Stepping out of the driver seat she walked over to the garage doors and hit the button to roll it down. "Got what we need, boss." She said as she lazily walked over and took a seat on the hood. "Everything should be set for our next run, so you gonna tell me what we are hitting now or should I just stay in the dark?"
"plans aren't solidified yet, but word has it that a new shipment of art is coming in for the gallery." he didn't have an interest in art and thought it was cumbersome to move, but they could always grab it and drop it somewhere else just to leave a message. it could be recovered safely, the team could have some pressure and train in a way besides street racing, and maybe it would keep them from getting antsy. and if some kind of small piece went missing, did he really care? not everything was about profit for him, so no, he did not.
( @mem0rised, the mayor's party ) "well, hey, lovely, how are you?" luca asked, all bright grins as he sipped yet another glass of wine. he was in a good mood, but that was his normal default mode and it was exacerbated by the wine and the atmosphere around them. "you here as someone's date?" it was a soft question, quiet enough not to be overheard even as luca looked around for some random, rich guy. despite the way it sounded, luca wasn't trying to hit on cat, he was just too damn nosy for his own good.
( @durmazseyda, the mayor's party ) "do you hear music coming from somewhere?" he asked the person next to him, looking around in confusion. the quality sounded too good to be someone's cell phone, but who knew with the people around here and their phones worth thousands. "from the house?" eli added as he realized there was an upstairs window open. he didn't know why some people were being escorted inside and why some were led to the garden - a private meeting or two separate parties, eli didn't know. "i don't remember anybody saying anything about live music." but if it was all from inside, then did it really count?
( @marisoldragotta , the mayor's party ) "sollyyyyy, tell me you aren't here to be a buzzkill. come on, give me good news," luca said cheerfully as he bounced over to marisol. even though he would have liked to snoop more the other night, maybe it was a good thing that luca hadn't gotten in too much trouble because gael wouldn't have been impressed and who knew, maybe one of these days he really would carry through on some of those threats he made. (luca didn't believe it for a minute, but it was fun to be dramatic).
"oh, shiny." distracted by the glitz, luca didn't bother clarifying what they were talking about. did they mean the crystal setting on the table, her jewelry, or something else? who knew, but he shifted past her to help himself to a drink that he would inevitably spill. "hey, so do you ever get bored showing up for things like this, just having to stand still and look pretty?" wait, wasn't there a song like that?
( @cfichor, the mayor's party ) "my guuuuuuuuy, fantastic outfit choice." luca said, grinning brightly as he went up to cian and tugged at his shirt without hesitation. "pretty sure this costs more than the rent on my first place, doesn't it? i may not have fancy clothes on, but if the food is boring, i've got unwrapped starbursts in my pocket." after a moment, those words put themselves together in luca's brain and they realized that could be taken the wrong way. frowning, luca shook his head even as he waved a hand through the air, as if erasing that last comment. "i mean a bag of the already unwrapped kind, i didn't unwrap them and just throw them loose in my pocket to get sticky and collect lint. anyway, i'm fashionably late, did i miss anything good?"
If Jason had it his way, he'd already be a few deep in some shitty beer he had tucked away in the back of his fridge at his crappy little apartment. Not forced to attend some fancy-ass brunch on behalf of his crew, standing there like an asshole with an empty plate behind some guy going on and on about salmon and church ladies. Even if the man did have a valid point. Those ladies always knew what the hell was up when it came to a good meal. "Yeah, yeah I guess so, man." Jason just sort of shrugged and nodded along looking over at the massive spread of meats and cheeses and other shit Jason wasn't even sure he recognized. It was more decadent than the kid from the Bronx had ever seen in his life. "But if this shit's on the mayor's dime, I ain't gunna complain too fuckin' much 'bout it."
"oh, trust me, i'm going to do everything short of making a to-go plate. if it's his money, i'm happy to spend it." well, the money was already spent, the food already there, and it was hardly like eli could get the mayor to donate it to a homeless shelter or something, but it was the principle. and also maybe habit not to miss a free meal, who even fucking knew. "but i think part of it's a scam. no one needs this many breads and chances are they're just trying to fill us up so they don't have to feed us real portions." eli drawled, not sure why it seemed like the smaller the food was, the more it cost. hell, that tasteful little drizzle probably ten bucks. frowning, eli reached out to lift what appeared to be a honey comb on a wooden dowel out of a clear glass jar and wondered why they couldn't have a normal spoon to use.
( @factionstarters , the mayor's party ) "i don't care how expensive these plates of - what is this, salmon? whatever this is, it doesn't matter how much it costs because nothing is better than what a little old church lady cooks." eli said as he frowned at the little slabs of meat artfully arranged on pieces of lettuce. or was that fucking kale? he didn't fucking knew, but he stood by what he said. "it's not that i think it's made with love or blessed by god or something, i just think they have those old family recipes that have been perfected over generations and they've spent their entire lives learning how to cook for the masses. i don't know if you've ever been to wildheart church during one of their fund raisers, but trust me, i mean it. food never tastes as good as when it's made by a church lady."
scotty needed to think, and he needed to think fast. no one was listening to him, everyone was standing there looking like deer in the headlights. is this what people do when they're in shock? people are fucking stupid. granted, scotty did just tell them to stay low but now it was becoming to much and he heard someone make a comment "no, you fucking people of new york owe the chief of police which is me a stiff drink. god fucking damn it would someone turn that fucking alarm off!"
"do i look like i fucking work here? you've got a gun, shoot at something and shut it off." eli declared irritably. he also had a gun, but he didn't see any reason to let the man know that. instead he took off in the direction of the sound of the commotion and grabbed an abandoned drink from the bar, tossing it back in one go. "if you're the chief of police, shouldn't you be doing something to get people out of here?" unless the guy was about to deputize him (which eli knew he would never live down), then he wasn't feeling too inclined to follow orders.
[ DANNY RAMIREZ, CISMALE, HE/THEY ] Man, I wouldn’t want to get on their bad side. Who am I talking about? That’s LUCA SUAREZ, they’re the POOL MANIPULATOR for ASTERISK. Not what you’d expect from most THIRTY-TWO year olds, right? Word has it that they’re just as CREATIVE as they are IMPULSIVE, but I can’t help thinking about WATCHING FLASHING LIGHTS THROUGH A WINDOW when I see them.
STATS
Nicknames: none
Height: 5'9"
Relationship status: Single
Sexuality: Bisexual
DETAILS
Has a flower tattoo going from his wrist up his right arm
frequently talks with his hands and rarely takes anything seriously
SUMMARY
the baby of a big family, luca was always spoiled and looked after, although he didn't realize it for a long time. his dad took off when he was a kid, leaving his mom to look after five boys all on her own. over time, the boys all found their own path, most of the boys wandering off.
jail for one, a job for another, while a third just skipped town. by the time his mom died, it was only luca and his oldest brother still around. together they arranged the funeral, and together they stayed. luca had always questioned what work kept his brother so busy, how he managed to always help their mother pay for anything. it was only after her death that luca found out that gael was part of a gang and that the money he gave their mom was dirty.
but luca didn't care. gael was the only family he had left and at heard, luca was still a spoiled baby, still bounding after his brother like a puppy not yet grown into his lips. for luca, what they do seems harmless enough, and he's in it for the fun, even if he knows his brother is still trying to babysit him.
"this is not what i came here for," eli growled as he decked some random guy screaming at him like a maniac. he wasn't one of the people shooting and he wasn't about to have people flailing and trying to hit him like he was one of the problems. there had to be an exit somewhere, some way for people to get out before this turned into a massacre. overheard, the fire alarm started to sound, drowning out the music, and eli could feel a headache throbbing inside his skull. "goddamn, someone owes me a stiff drink," he swore as someone shoved past him.
[ TRAVIS FIMMEL, CISMALE, HE/HIM ] Man, I wouldn’t want to get on their bad side. Who am I talking about? That’s ELI KINGSFORD, they’re the LEADER for BREAK LIGHT. Not what you’d expect from most forty-five year olds, right? Word has it that they’re just as RESILIENT as they are TACTLESS, but I can’t help thinking about THE CRUNCH OF DRIVEWAY GRAVEL BENEATH MY FEET when I see them.
STATS
Nicknames: Eli is short for Elijah
Birthplace: Locust Fork, Alabama
Height: 6'0
Relationship status: Single
Sexuality: Straight
DETAILS
wears glasses/contacts after a fight in a bar parking lot damaged his vision
has a thing for redheads, ngl
SUMMARY
pushed into a strong work ethic by a family that didn't have much, eli grew up mowing lawns and walking dogs for anyone that would pay him cash. some of the neighbors paid him to help out with odd jobs, hiring him to be an assistant with home projects like plumbing or carpentry, gifting him talents that people always told him would be worth something one day.
the day he found the used bike for sale, it took most of his savings to afford it and it wiped them completely out to fix the bike up. but eventually he managed it with the help of his older brother. a mechanic by trade, david showed him what the bike needed and when eli was 18, they took off together on a trip up the eastern seaboard, all the way from alabama to new york and back.
the trip resulted in disposable cameras with full rolls and a lot of memories, but the more impactful part of the trip was the end where eli met a young woman and fell in love. a week with one person shouldn't change the entire trajectory of your life, that's what david said, but eli didn't listen. just like a dumb teacher, he decided to go all in, staying with her and even having a baby as they made plans of the future.
those plans never happened. instead tragedy struck with amelia and the baby both dying and leaving eli without anything to lose. he sold everything including his bike for a car and started living out of it, started racing it, and eventually he caught the attention of the leader of break light.
the adrenaline rush of racing didn't compare to breaking in to places and stealing things, and finally he felt alive again. with the brotherhood of break light, he found a reason to keep pushing forward, something to wake up and live for, and he's never forgotten it.
pixelskylines
2087
titsay
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