paris prefers you in pink. it will always prefer you in pink, champagne bubbling up in its glass, and rose-tinted glasses -- c'est lui pour moi. moi pour lui dans la vie. il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie: honey words, lovely voice, sweet kisses to petal-soft lips. paris prefers you like this.
***
la vie en rose is a verse subservient to elements already established in the otherworld verse and the nulliverse. it is an au with focus on crime and -- as you might’ve guessed -- centered around europe as setting, particularly france. general trigger warnings apply: violence, gang violence/crime, murder, drug and alcohol usage. it will have supernatural and non-supernatural variants (in the non-supernatural case, simply ignore the fantastical bits), as well as a period variant upon-request.
continue if you wish to read more about this verse, and the characters involved in it.
FUNDAMENTALS.
so this is a verse that’s actually been present for quite a while, but not on the level that i’m working it right now. its main focus is very simple: it explores the what if of marcelo having grown up in sicily with the marconi family as opposed to the reyes in either colombia or the states.
both of his parents died exactly as did in canon, and at age 19, he officially assumed his father’s moniker, dents de sabre. at age 24, he put that name to good use as he went about ruthlessly yet methodically wiping out every single presumed and not-so-presumed enemy of his parents, really anyone that could’ve played a role in ysmael reyes’ disappearance and death. nobody was spared in the process, which immediately put his name out there in the criminal landscape.
marcelo has been aged up to become 31 years old. he went about working in contract killing capacity for the marconi family between ages 18 and 30. he was very good at his job regardless of range and regardless of difficulty. he’s become known for his tenacity, especially when it comes to killing other supernatural creatures -- fae, demons, vampires, werewolves, witches. he’s had no shortage of powerful victims. at age 26 he also picked up enhanced interrogation.
the job took him to france, which is currently where he lives. he resides in the quartier latin of paris, and though he continues to pick up contracts, he no longer affiliates himself with the marconi. that means that he will no longer exclusively work for them and is now independent.
his front job is to work at a bar owned by bulgarian fae, le six tireurs. it is notable for being neutral grounds as far as business is concerned.
speaking of the marconi family, their power comes into full swing in this verse. they have complete control of sicily and southern parts of italy, and influence throughout europe, and still in the united states. though marcelo has chosen to disconnect from the family, he is still biologically related to the family’s padrone, giancarlo marconi. marcelo’s his grandchild. as a result he will really never be not associated with them.
OTHER CHARACTERS INVOLVED WITH THIS VERSE.
though marcelo is my main focus in this verse there’s many characters that can be interacted with, that also exists in this au since it’s basically just the european otherworld. for more information on them, click their names.
MIKHAIL REZANOV: owner of bibliothèque d'encre dorée, a library in paris known to store very special books that humans tend to consider odd or just useless. a lot of these books talk are about forbidden magic but are written in code, or talk about innocuous things like history or biology but happen to be from different dimensions or different timelines of the earth, there’s also poetry in various dead languages, et al. on top of this, mikhail is also a very well-respected member of the eurocouncil and the high priest of the old god zhaogd'endir, also known as janus. he’s a good source of information when it comes to old gods and monsters in general, as he’s tasked with overseeing a few of them. he’s always happy to share a cup of tea with you.
LORENZO SCARLATTI: fashion designer, member of the marconi family, tailor of clothes known to be impervious to magic and resist both a normal bullet and a werewolf bite. open to commissions if you’ve been referred by someone. a laestrygonian that has been alive for at least one century who was not born with the face he currently wears.
RENAUD: a cosmic anomaly that gave himself a name and also a purpose: cult leading. malignant entity that feeds off people’s fear and sexual energy. known to visit people in dreams to elicit these emotions. will visit you looking like your biggest object of desire, and will possibly try to rope you into the aforementioned cult, or simply possess you for a day or two. occasional council asset.
VITALE: the king of vampires, nearly old as the condition. presumed son of a goddess. does not live in france but will frequently travel anywhere he pleases, other than that his focus is on either italy or egypt. a council member. will kill u if you so much as sneeze in his general direction -- jk, he’s too affable for that.
THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL.
the organization tasked with overseeing supernatural activity in europe, with key representatives from every single country. mikhail is part of the council, as are several members of the marconi family (with giancarlo leading the charge). their concern is politics and control over the information regarding magic. there are other, shadier objectives, depending on who you ask, but overall this organization is shrouded in mystery and this is by design.
they count with a large number of assets that do a variety of jobs for them, from killing irresponsible magic-wielders to stealing objects of great importance from the wrong hands. they’re not a criminal institution, but they don’t care about the criminal affairs of their members.
also, as the name might suggest -- there are other councils for other parts of the world. america’s equivalents would be the CPA or the council for protection of the arts (made up of 12 old magical families), also known simply as the twelve families council, and the mediation group, an interespecies association with representatives from witch, vampire, werewolf, and fae communities as well as other “fringe” species, like werepumas.
the american and european councils are run by different people and only associate themselves for the purposes of sorting out intercontinental affairs.
LE SIX TIREURS.
owned by the kallikantzaroi, it is the place to go to to find people in paris that will do your dirty work for you. it has been around since forever, tucked inconspicuously between other two nameless establishments in the quartier latin. the inside is bigger than the outside could ever hope to denote, and underneath there’s catacombs that are connected to other key spots of paris through tunnels, something useful for safe passage and discreet movilization from one location to another.
marcelo works as a bartender. he got the job as a favor, and everyone that frequents the place knows him very well. he, in turn, knows them as well, and hears each and every one of their conversations -- even if they try to conceal them through magical means. as of late marcelo has gotten into information brokering, and can give you any information you need about paris’ underbelly for a price.
THE COURNEUVE COMPLEX.
a complex of buildings in la courneuve (a commune very close to paris) that houses primarily immigrants and refugees and low class citizens. also renaud’s base of operations and the home of the courneuve group, a gang comprised of renaud’s vessels and people he has visited in dreams. in exchange for their loyalty and labor, renaud keeps them clothed and well-fed and needing for very little. it is a VERY dangerous place, and you’ll never feel safe entering it. they will know you are an outsider as soon as try to walk along the street near the buildings.
LA CHÂTEAU DE RÊVE
a club in the french riviera that comes to be eventually owned by marcelo reyes and his wife, charmaine theroux. counting with a primary house and two secondary houses, it doubles as both a night club and a strip club, depending on the location, and it caters to clientele of any gender (with employees from any gender as well). it sits in the heart of cannes surrounded by expansive gardens, and much like the name suggests -- it could be considered a small castle all of its own, with every night being its own dream-themed fantasy. it is an expensive establishment, but this is not without reason; there’s an illusory quality to this place and an air of mystery and secretiveness that they actively work to maintain. marcelo cares a lot for it and goes at great lengths to look after his employees -- they are a very close-knit group.
by the point marcelo becomes a manager of the place he’s 38, so the chateau’s existence comes into place at a different point of the verse’s timeline. though not officially retired, marcelo no longer takes contracts as frequently as he might have in the past. he’s very busy running the castle.
PLOTTING NOTES.
the verse can simply be a simple aesthetic backdrop for interactions or you can choose to actively have your character involved within the verse. either works just as well. ideally, this verse is perfect for interactions with other supernatural characters that are set in europe, especially those with a criminal edge (but those that are simply civilian or crime-adjacent are welcome too).
as previously noted, however, it can also be used for strict modern realism -- do not be afraid to approach me for this. everything is quite adaptable. if your character is a human and you’re more comfortable keeping things realistic, simply assume that the magical bits do not apply to our plotting. i’ve made it so it can go either way, easily.
nothing is set in stone. i’m quite flexible and open minded if you’d like to play around in this verse. for example, with some talking, i can happily accept your characters as powerful enough to be part of the european council as well. and if you choose to work with marcelo’s older counterpart, your character can work as an employee of his in the chateau, or just an associate. basically, what i’m saying is there’s no need to keep your distance from all this worldbuilding -- i want the opposite! if the connection makes sense, i’d be happy to include it.
i’ve actually worked out a john wick variant of this verse in case any john wick canons or ocs want to interact with me, with the marconi family as a member of the high table, and le six tireurs as a group with similar aspects to the continental but smaller in scale and unaffiliated to it. if you’re more comfortable with this particular canon, we can go with it.
there is always something left to love. when people ask, that is what they say. there’s always something left to love, and it’s because of that love that they do the things they do. what makes them kill. what makes them punish and desecrate the holy alongside the mundane. it is not hatred, not revulsion, not fear, but something else, much purer than all those things combined, what turns the gears of this barbarity: a conviction that cuts through diamond. a deeper knowledge about the world and the beings that live in it, than could be found anywhere else. a willingness, stripped of all pride, to use this knowledge crucially against transgressors, against liars, against evil itself -- without any kind of differentiation between men and gods.
***
nueva religión is a verse subservient to elements already established in the otherworld verse and the nulliverse. it’s basically an au of an au with strong magical realism and urban fantasy influences, as well as a background in mythopoeia and crime. theology and mythology are central themes of the verse, so talks about religion are bound to show up frequently. naturally, there will be general, verse-wise trigger and content warnings regarding: blasphemy, sacrilege, and violence. there will be mentions of unsavory topics in this post like gang violence/crime, abuse and drugs, so it is best to stop reading from this point onward if mere mentions of these topics trigger you. mental health comes first, always. of course, all specific disturbances will be tagged in a post by post basis.
continue if you wish to read more about this verse, and the characters involved in it.
FUNDAMENTALS.
as prev. mentioned, this is an au of an au. it centers around the well-known (as far as my blog is concerned, at least) reyes family and their efforts running a gang that also happens to have unorthodox religious beliefs. in this verse, the reyes never went to new york between 1970 and 1990. instead, they decided to settle completely in florida in a neighborhood of miami-dade county called carrion. there, they would gain a foothold by waging war on neighborhood gangs until they achieved complete control of carrion. now the area is the base of operations for everything they do.
the characterizations in this verse are drastically different due to: 1. the different setting 2. the different background 3. the different tone -- and while characters like marcelo still retain several core characteristics, it’s best to assume the characters will not behave in the exact same way as they do in their canon verses, and they will not respond the same. it might be jarring. it’s meant to be jarring, as this verse intends to explore a ‘what if’ type of scenario for the reyes family if they still decided to be active in the criminal world.
as it’s been hinted, the reyes have an alternative religion, complete with a central deity and minor gods. this religion is completely fictional, as are their ritual practices, and they are not meant to be similar to any real life religion or belief system.
the neighborhood of carrion is fictional too, and while certain historical elements might be taken directly from real life, i don’t mean to make accurate depictions of them (this especially concerns the cocaine boom of the 80s and colombia’s la violencia between the 40s and 50s). i also don’t plan to use any real life gangs/criminals in this verse, and i won’t acknowledge their existence.
the verse sways between urban fantasy and magical realism. while the magic is very much real, the extent of it will be unfamiliar to most people, and a lot of things will be deliberately vague. things in carrion work a particular way, people work a certain way, and it’s not the same for other parts of miami.
LOS DISCÍPULOS.
known by a variety of names (los dorados, los reales, la justicia, la realeza, or the kings of miami) los discipulos de la nueva religión is the gang the reyes run. consisting primarily of werecats and humans of magical predisposition, they’re infamous in miami for their extremely violent ways and their vicious grip on carrion.
though during the first decade they were focused on drug distribution (and were, for several years, in full control of the colombia-caribbean islands-usa cocaine pipeline), over time they have downsized their drug operation.
nowadays, the kings manage protection rackets for businesses outside of carrion, simultaneously protecting their home neighborhood from the influence of other gangs -- completely for free. they also perform armed robbery and theft outside of miami and hijack trucks.
perhaps the thing they are most known for, however, is their vigilantism. notably anti-cop, the kings have taken it upon themselves to impart justice in their neighborhood and surrounding areas. this effort, unlike the protection rackets, is completely free of cost. essentially, they will go after those they consider to have evaded justice: murderers, abusers, p*dophiles, and rapists. they will also make a point to go after corrupted authority figures in particular: police officers, priests, and the occasional politician. as a result, they have been linked to various assassinations, but nothing has ever been proven as of right now.
the kings also pump a lot of money into carrion and surrounding areas. their businesses include, but are not limited to: a tattoo parlor, a hair salon, a barbershop, and a bar. they also run a private shelter and organize many activities for the benefit of carrion’s citizens. because of this, they’re pretty beloved within their community and outside of it. the popular consensus seems to be that if you need help and ask the kings for it, you’re guaranteed to receive it.
EL CULTO / THE BELIEFS.
though the gang came to be around the 80s officially, el culto has been going on for much longer, evolving steadily into what it is today. originally started in colombia, it centers around one main figure: la Justicia, a goddess thought to be responsible for keeping balance in the universe by killing what needs to be killed and subsequently consuming it -- something for which she was given the title of Divine Devorer (or Divina Devoradora).
la justicia is the guiding figure of their lives, and believers kill for her (human sacrifices and offering dead bodies being quite common). she’s considered the agent of retribution, above all other gods and above all other things.
the worship maintains that all other gods might as well exist, but they too have to follow the laws of the universe, and if they break them, then they too will be consumed by la Justicia. in that way, the goddess acts as a check/balance for other pantheons. and they don’t necessarily have to like that (many, in fact, hate her) but there’s nothing they can do about it.
the culto is notably anti-catholic/anti-christian god, and in a certain way started as a direct response to the forced christianization of south america that happened during colonial times. missionaries were often killed around this time, and many churches were destroyed. because of this tightly knit history with catholicism, it’s not rare to see worshippers of La Justicia “appropiating” catholic imagery in blatant and mocking ways.
el culto’s other deities are La Muerte and La Locura, representing respectively the two other laws of the universe. if la Justicia is the agent of order, La Locura is the agent of disorder, and La Muerte (death) is the only certainty in the whole universe. despite their massive power, the are considered minor in the cult -- they’re seen as two natural influences that prefer not to directly involve themselves in the world, unlike La Justicia, which must be constantly pursued and taken care of.
CARRION, MIAMI.
bordered with allapattah to the west, wynwood to the east, and liberty city to the north, carrion is a neighborhood in miami with a large latino population that represents about 70% of its makeup. predominated by dominicans, puerto ricans and cubans as well as colombians and venezuelans, it’s primarily a low to working class neighborhood with a big textiles market. it’s also well known for it’s food distribution centers and mercados, which a wide variety of tropical fruits.
apart from all this, it happens to be the homebase of the kings, and where much of the action takes place. carrion has a reputation for being a strange neighborhood, where weird things often take place and “nobody notices”. despite being somewhat quiet, it boasts an alarmingly high number of unsolved disappearance cases, only rivalled by the number of unsolved murder cases. it was pretty active during the cocaine boon of the 80s and it’s rumored there’s 20 tons of cocaine hidden somewhere from those times in the neighborhood. as far fetched as that sounds, in 2016 someone found 100k worth of jewelry hidden inside their kitchen wall during a house renovation, so -- let’s just say nothing is out of the question when it comes to carrion.
