𝙲𝙷𝙸𝚈𝙾𝚄 — what’s your favourite weapon to carry ? is it special in any way ?
salem likes his swords, all of them. one might think he carries far too many to have a favorite, but that’s just an assumption. and, as salem’s mother would always say, assumption is the mother of all fuck ups. she probably also stole that line from a movie, but who is salem to judge? the line makes perfect sense ninety percent of the time anyway.
no, salem does indeed have a favorite and it’s one he stumbled across while researching for a location the inquisitors went to a couple of years ago. a simple black cutlass, nicely curved, very well made with carbon steel. he doesn’t even remember where they went for their job then, some shipyard, somewhere in the united states, but that’s all he remembers now. if he pulled his pictures out he could give in detail commentary on his discovery.
“no, okay, it’s fashioned after a 1917 cutlass sword used by the navy, so it’s a replica, but this thing is badass, i’m serious.” salem recalls convincing woojin on exactly why he needed this particular three hundred dollar sword. “if someone wants quality, they pay. iuppiter gives us plenty.” at least, salem convinces himself he needed to persuade woojin. that’s probably not how the story went.
“best part of it is — it’s black, fucking badass i’m telling you.”
yes, definitely embellished story.
𝚂𝙴𝙺𝙷𝙼𝙴𝚃 — do you have any scars ? if so, how did you get them ?
salem pulls up his shirt to show off the scar across his stomach to anyone who’ll listen. he embellishes the story happily, and somewhere, he imagines, woojin is snorting at him. the man knows the real story behind the scar and it isn’t boring — a sword fight could never be boring, right? but it’s not as lavish as salem leads the new recruits into thinking it was.
“i’m telling you, this guy comes ‘round the corner and he catches me off guard! any closer and i’d have my insides on the outside!” not how he would normally tell it, leaving out the gory bits, but he’d gotten scolded after one of their previous recruits nearly vomited after he told, in detail, what could’ve happened to him.
the story moves on to another tale, the one of the scar on his chin. this one’s rather plain, a simple fall off a swing into pavement ( kids’ playgrounds ought to be better thought out ). so he shifts to the numerous scars on his hands and wrists, all from his sword fighting — some from cleaning though, as many of the older inquisitors know. salem isn’t exactly finessed in much else beyond his sword fighting and survival skills. he comes off much more charming than he truly is, running into doors and light poles, tripping down stairs.
this though, his clumsiness, he’ll blame on a fractured shin bone. it healed quickly, but he’ll use anything to excuse himself.
𝙾𝙶𝙼𝙰 — do you have any cultural values that you kept since you were a child ? any life philosophies you go by ?
“keeping going. keep your eyes open, your heart free… don’t fucking settle down.”
salem is not one to commit to anything. inquisitors is the only thing he can readily say he’s utterly loyal to apart from his own need to get away. he can’t stay in one place for long, that desire to be on the move one that’s rather costly, but with the inquisitors, he has more than enough to keep himself going. he’s too wild to tame, every inch of him always ready for the next adventure.
so, his philosophy? never settle. of course, then another philosophy voids that — “never say never.” the two things to take away from any of salem’s ‘philosophies’ is that he’s full of shit and you shouldn’t listen to him.
“ you’ll find that i’m someone of simple tastes. wine, literature, headbutts. ”
( INQUISITORS SENTENCE STARTERS | answering )
it’s a celebratory event, and woojin supposes theo has had a few bottles of soju too — or maybe even more. he is slightly intoxicated as well, denying so would be a lie, an obvious one with how his cheeks are tinged red and the room feels hot even though it’s winter. it’s nice though, letting go every once in a while, surrounded by his team members, having a good time without needing to check their backs every single moment. hence, woojin has allowed himself to drink ( more egged to do so, but the strategist finds himself not minding that fact ). and thus, he’s having a really, really good time. laughter booms from one side of the table, then the other, and theo is trying to convince everyone that he is a cultured individual — something that made woojin laugh for minutes on end. he’s still trying to catch his breath, really.
“you trip over your own feet. i can’t imagine you going to a museum on your off time without destroying some ancient artifact —” he’s joking around, he really is, if the upward tilt of his lips is anything to go by. woojin trusts theo very much, even though the younger has some clumsy antics, the strategist doesn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. at theo’s rebuttal, another burst of laughter escapes him, shaking his frame as he leans on the table, burying his face in one hand as he fans himself with the other. “literature — and wine ? you don’t drink wine — i never saw you drinking wine, you- you drink beer and watch tv. i don’t think our historians have rubbed off on you that much — it’s impossible.” he squints a little, pointing towards the group of people who are the actual cultured ones, officially, without a doubt. “headbutts — i can make sense of those more. not really convincing me pal, but yeah — maybe so. it’s not the best method of fighting, i’d say. don’t kill any brain cells now, please — we do need those people skills.” woojin must be more drunk than he realizes, which is why the truth falls from his lips without anything hidden in front of it. he laughs after that, airy and light, before he takes a swig from his bottle of soju. they have a long night ahead of them.
