12-28-2022, 02:07 PM
[align=center][div style="width: 470px; text-align: justify; font-family: new times roman; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px;"]❝ Laurent. Laurent, wait. ❞
❝ Got nothin' to say to ya, Teddy. ❞ Shoes pounded against the marble floor as Laurent avoided his younger brother. It wasn't hard to do so, especially since Teddy had since receded into nothing but a stranger. They may have shared the same blood, the same DNA, but when Laurent gazed upon his brother's face, he saw nothing but some servile bootlicker.
❝ But ya can't tell me that he ain't right about something — the casino's doing well, sure, but don't ya think we need to pull somethin' big to get our name out there?! I mean- I mean look at us. We turning into some happy holiday for some would-bes wantin' a good time. Like Papa said, we gotta ruffle some feathers to remind 'em that they can come fest all they want, but they best not screw us over. We ain't The Badlands for nothin'. ❞
❝ Jesus, ya talk a lot. ❞ Laurent stopped dead in his tracks, face crinkling up with a simmering rage before swivelling around to suddenly face his brother. And there Teddy stood, much like a homing pigeon, palms raised and brows quirking as if he truly believed that Laurent would consider his idea. In fact, Laurent could barely call it his brother's idea — after all, it was just Giovanni dictating through Teddy. It left a sour taste in his mouth, and Laurent scoffed before jabbing a finger his way. ❝ Ya need to understand that this ain't about whether or not we be lookin' like some laughing stock in front of all these lowlife scumbags. They know we don't fuck about, I see it in their eyes as I step foot in that casino. I see it when they part like the red-fucking-sea as I walk on by. They're pissin' their fuckin' pants when I'm around, so maybe the problem ain't The Badlands. It's you. ❞
Teddy's jaw parted as he recoiled, astounded by his older brother's venomous words before beginning to grimace with distaste. ❝ Agh, merde. Fuck you, Laurent. Don't ya get it? This would be the day people really begin to respect us. But first, we gotta do da dirty work. We got our claws into some respectable folk, and now we make sure they know where they belong in da chain of command. ❞ Ever the enterpriser, huh? Laurent began to nod his head slowly, contemplatively, before he pointed out firmly, ❝ Get that look off of ya face. We don't gotta prove nothin' to anyone. When the blade hits bone, they all hear us dead clear. Nobody's gonna be messin' with us any time soon, I can assure you of that... Oh, and you can tell Giovanni to shut the fuck up before I stick a gun in his mouth and educate him on that ❛ chain of command ❜ of yours. ❞
And with that, Laurent began to make his way down the stairs into the hotel lobby, only to be hindered again by Teddy's deluded confession. ❝ He's changed, ya know? He [i]wants to be our Papa; everything he ever did, he did for us. ❞[/I] Laurent huffed a soft breath, staring down into the hotel lobby as a small handful of passersby trying to feign ignorance to the argument upstairs. And then, Laurent peered up to where Teddy leant over the railings to look down at him.
❝ What he did for us, 'ey? Tell me: like what? Leave us to it whilst he went without telling us if he'd ever come home? Give us a stick, a box to play in the backyard with? Come home every few days just to leave again the next morning? We were prisoners alone in that house, Teddy. We had nothing whilst he lived a double life of swindling people that never deserved it. We meant nothing to him, just- just discarded waste that he'd check on every once in a while just to see whether we hadn't died alone in that fucking place. I was thirteen, Teddy. Thirteen years old and I had to be done with my own childhood so that I could keep you alive. Me, not Papa. He failed to do the one thing he was obliged to do, and that was to protect his boys. ❞
Teddy stood in silence, bottom lip giving away the slightest of trembles as his eyes dulled. ❝ So forgive me for not believing a single fucking word that comes out of his mouth. You were too young to ever understand the things he put us through but trust me when I say he doesn't deserve an ounce of your pity. The first appearance deceives many, and that bastard is doing one hell of a good job at it. ❞ Teddy soon averted glossy eyes, avoiding Laurent's hard stare until Laurent eventually turned to walk downstairs into the hotel lobby so that he could head back towards his room. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he briefly stopped to glance around, hoping he might find his wife in the process so that he could make her aware of the calculated manipulation that Giovanni was inflicting upon Teddy.
A part of Laurent wished to know what Giovanni's ulterior motive was. He wouldn't suggest such a violent feat if there wasn't something he would benefit from. It made Laurent ruminate on the recent argument — if he was so willing throw his boys into the line of fire to assure people were too afraid to attack The Badlands, then what was Giovanni trying to protect himself from?
// sorry for the big post! it was fun to write out the boys arguing over Giovanni (as usual) but this one just may have uncovered a little too much for Teddy's liking :eyes: feel free for your character to approach either Laurent or Teddy if you want!
❝ Got nothin' to say to ya, Teddy. ❞ Shoes pounded against the marble floor as Laurent avoided his younger brother. It wasn't hard to do so, especially since Teddy had since receded into nothing but a stranger. They may have shared the same blood, the same DNA, but when Laurent gazed upon his brother's face, he saw nothing but some servile bootlicker.
❝ But ya can't tell me that he ain't right about something — the casino's doing well, sure, but don't ya think we need to pull somethin' big to get our name out there?! I mean- I mean look at us. We turning into some happy holiday for some would-bes wantin' a good time. Like Papa said, we gotta ruffle some feathers to remind 'em that they can come fest all they want, but they best not screw us over. We ain't The Badlands for nothin'. ❞
❝ Jesus, ya talk a lot. ❞ Laurent stopped dead in his tracks, face crinkling up with a simmering rage before swivelling around to suddenly face his brother. And there Teddy stood, much like a homing pigeon, palms raised and brows quirking as if he truly believed that Laurent would consider his idea. In fact, Laurent could barely call it his brother's idea — after all, it was just Giovanni dictating through Teddy. It left a sour taste in his mouth, and Laurent scoffed before jabbing a finger his way. ❝ Ya need to understand that this ain't about whether or not we be lookin' like some laughing stock in front of all these lowlife scumbags. They know we don't fuck about, I see it in their eyes as I step foot in that casino. I see it when they part like the red-fucking-sea as I walk on by. They're pissin' their fuckin' pants when I'm around, so maybe the problem ain't The Badlands. It's you. ❞
Teddy's jaw parted as he recoiled, astounded by his older brother's venomous words before beginning to grimace with distaste. ❝ Agh, merde. Fuck you, Laurent. Don't ya get it? This would be the day people really begin to respect us. But first, we gotta do da dirty work. We got our claws into some respectable folk, and now we make sure they know where they belong in da chain of command. ❞ Ever the enterpriser, huh? Laurent began to nod his head slowly, contemplatively, before he pointed out firmly, ❝ Get that look off of ya face. We don't gotta prove nothin' to anyone. When the blade hits bone, they all hear us dead clear. Nobody's gonna be messin' with us any time soon, I can assure you of that... Oh, and you can tell Giovanni to shut the fuck up before I stick a gun in his mouth and educate him on that ❛ chain of command ❜ of yours. ❞
And with that, Laurent began to make his way down the stairs into the hotel lobby, only to be hindered again by Teddy's deluded confession. ❝ He's changed, ya know? He [i]wants to be our Papa; everything he ever did, he did for us. ❞[/I] Laurent huffed a soft breath, staring down into the hotel lobby as a small handful of passersby trying to feign ignorance to the argument upstairs. And then, Laurent peered up to where Teddy leant over the railings to look down at him.
❝ What he did for us, 'ey? Tell me: like what? Leave us to it whilst he went without telling us if he'd ever come home? Give us a stick, a box to play in the backyard with? Come home every few days just to leave again the next morning? We were prisoners alone in that house, Teddy. We had nothing whilst he lived a double life of swindling people that never deserved it. We meant nothing to him, just- just discarded waste that he'd check on every once in a while just to see whether we hadn't died alone in that fucking place. I was thirteen, Teddy. Thirteen years old and I had to be done with my own childhood so that I could keep you alive. Me, not Papa. He failed to do the one thing he was obliged to do, and that was to protect his boys. ❞
Teddy stood in silence, bottom lip giving away the slightest of trembles as his eyes dulled. ❝ So forgive me for not believing a single fucking word that comes out of his mouth. You were too young to ever understand the things he put us through but trust me when I say he doesn't deserve an ounce of your pity. The first appearance deceives many, and that bastard is doing one hell of a good job at it. ❞ Teddy soon averted glossy eyes, avoiding Laurent's hard stare until Laurent eventually turned to walk downstairs into the hotel lobby so that he could head back towards his room. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he briefly stopped to glance around, hoping he might find his wife in the process so that he could make her aware of the calculated manipulation that Giovanni was inflicting upon Teddy.
A part of Laurent wished to know what Giovanni's ulterior motive was. He wouldn't suggest such a violent feat if there wasn't something he would benefit from. It made Laurent ruminate on the recent argument — if he was so willing throw his boys into the line of fire to assure people were too afraid to attack The Badlands, then what was Giovanni trying to protect himself from?
// sorry for the big post! it was fun to write out the boys arguing over Giovanni (as usual) but this one just may have uncovered a little too much for Teddy's liking :eyes: feel free for your character to approach either Laurent or Teddy if you want!
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THE WORLD'S CONTROLLED BY PEOPLE CONTROLLING PEOPLE
[div style="width: 400px; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1; letter-spacing: 1.2px; word-spacing: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px;"]SO COME ON PEOPLE, BURN THE EMPIRE, BRING HER TO HER KNEES.
[div style="width: 400px; font-family: georgia; text-align: center; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1; letter-spacing: 1.2px; word-spacing: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px;"]SO COME ON PEOPLE, BURN THE EMPIRE, BRING HER TO HER KNEES.