“If the devil whispers in people’s ears encouraging them to sin, who whispers to the devil?”
name: Samir Sarsour
age: thirty-five
occupation: devil’s apprentice
gender: cis-male
pronouns: he/his
sexuality: asexual
Egyptian-American Samir Sarsour wasn’t always so wild, making claims the streets raised him. For a long time, it was just him and his mom, and life was good. His father who’d left back to Egypt when he was three years old never found his way back Stateside. And his mother, abandoned in a foreign country not her own had to get by, learning to assimilate, communicate and blend in. The little community they had found in New Jersey offered what little support they could. Though it wasn’t much, for her and Samir it was everything. They had found a home…sort of. That was until, 9/11 happened.
Suddenly the community they had found, the country they had begun to call home, and the neighbors they thought they knew weren’t so welcoming. Fear began to sew its way into the hearts of their little Arab-American community, with nonstop threats and acts of vandalism causing Samir’s mom to begin maintaining her distance. And Samir, ever the loyal Taurean bull that he was, followed suit. Though the threats extended beyond the walls of their local Mosque and followed them home, they falsely believed they were safe there. His mother out of concern for their safety, had stopped wearing the hijab or any cultural clothing, changing her appearance completely. Though her accent still carried traces of the motherland, for the most part she thought her and her sweet boy, were finally safe. Samir was all-American, a citizen of the United States without a hint of the broken English she carried. He could get by, he could blend in with his peers; if it was only that simple.
Though the color of his skin was white, he looked anything but. In the remaining years that followed in high school, Samir was bullied, pushed into lockers and beat up in the school parking lot, often left with a black eye and a busted lip. Getting called names like ‘osama’, ‘towel-head’ and ‘terrorist’ became the new norm. His locker was vandalized, backpack stolen and dumped in the trash. His peers were ruthless, and Samir knew it was only a matter of time before things escalated. The first night he’d came home bruised up, Samir placed a brave smile on for his mother like she’d always done for him. He comforted her through the fit of fearful tears she displayed at their small kitchen table, convincing her differently despite the justice she desperately wanted for her son. “Don’t worry about me, Mama.” He’d said. “If we report this, the police will look into you and you’ll get deported. Who will look after me then?” The truth, ugly as it was, left them no choice. They had to endure.
Paranoid and protective over his mother, he began to isolate himself. He kept quiet, kept his head down and mouth shut, despite the numerous attempts by the school’s administration for him to come forward. Eventually it left them no choice but for them to have him face a two-week suspension, with the only evidence of there being any trouble at all being the marks on his face. Not wanting to alarm his mother, Samir spent the next two weeks pretending to go to school as usual. But it was during that time that he began to find a new community and place to call home, with his run-ins with the Devils setting him on a different path in life. One that would ensure him and the only person he ever cared about protection, in a way the government and system couldn’t.
■ WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON? ■
After facing numerous beatdowns and harassment following the 9/11 attacks, Samir turned to the Devils for the protection he needed. Learning from his mother’s will to endure, Samir knew that their chances of survival in this not so new America were dependent on it. By his senior year of high school, Samir was well on his way to becoming a member. Now aged 35, his loyalty to the Devils remains as steadfast as ever, incredibly grateful for the new lease on life.
■ KEEP THIS AWAY FROM YOUR ENEMIES. ■
Many, many years after Samir had graduated and he’d been afforded the protection and support of the Devils, Samir finally sought out the justice he hadn’t been able to obtain in his high school years. One-by-one with righteous anger as his guide, Samir with the help of a few Devils, left his tormentors for dead. Though they’d disposed of any evidence and the bodies as stealthily as possible, the individuals killed remains among missing person(s), leaving their cases still very much open. For anyone who is able to make the connection between the men missing and Samir being one common connection between them, his life, as he knows it, could very well be over.
■ Nyla Lucas: Nyla and Samir go way back, right to his high school days. Though he would’ve considered her an acquaintance back then, his re-connection with her through his work has made her one of his closest friends, some might even say ‘best’.
■ Miguel Fuentes: Miguel was the one who recruited Samir back in the day and gunned for him, making Miguel one of the few people Samir is incredibly loyal to, beyond even the realm of the Devils themselves. Prior to Samir’s current job, he was Miguel’s shadow learning from him anything and everything he could. It was during this time under Miguel’s tutelage that he decided to seek revenge on the one’s who’d harmed him.
■ Garrett Miller > Currently shadowing, literally and figuratively. Unless on a job or sending a message, Samir tends to follow after Garrett like a duckling. Where Garrett goes, he follows.
■ Elisabeth Duncan > Also shadowing. Samir is nothing if not loyal with being available always to the leaders of the Devils.
■ Dallas King > A friend. Samir likes to sit next to him quietly and smile at him.
■ Isaac Abrigo > Likeable enough. Samir often lurks behind him, and watches him from a corner.
■ Domino Jackson > If the word ‘intimidating’ were a person. Samir is often giving her nervous glances and any confidence he’s gained goes right out the window around her.
Samir Sasour is a TAKEN character and is portrayed by Rami Malek who’s FC IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
