Tweak

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Tweak says, "In the Beginning there was not"

Gael Cardenas (shorething) wrote in heureuxlake,
@ 2024-07-06 21:33:00

Entry tags:

Δ complete, Δ threads, → astrid hakansson, → aubrey summers, → benny carmichael, → dawn miller, → eric reed, → gael cardenas, → joe russo, → jude anderson, → naomi carvalho, → ram easthallow, → reggie rimeblossom, → serafina cardenas, ∞ 2000: 07, ◦ heureux lake

RP: Gael's Birthday (The Saddest Picnic)
Who: Open to all! (Actually invited guests are: Astrid, Aubrey, Benny, Dawn, Eric, Joe, Jude, Michael, Naomi, Ram, Reggie, Sefie)
What: Totally a quiet low-key picnic, no drama whatsoever.
When: Sunday 7th July. (Posting early because 'no drama whatsoever' was a gross miscalculation on my part).
Where: Lakeside garden of the Cardenas house.
Warnings: Check your headers!
Completion Status: Complete.

- Gael genuinely expected this to be a very low-pressure, chill picnic. There was a text invitation specifying that people could drop in for as little time as they wanted, no need for gifts, he'd just be happy if they came.
- There are chips, dips and non-alcoholic cocktails provided. People can bring their own, but there was no suggestion they needed to.
- Of course Ram brought booze, so I guess this is all his fault after all.
- There's music playing from the house but if you get too far away you probably can't hear it.
- Mama Cardenas might drop in for five minutes, but this is too below her radar, really.

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

notalongtime
2024-07-09 09:02 pm UTC (link)

As he looked over at Ram, Joe's expression softened. In less than a month, that man had turned so many of Joe's expectations for this life on their head. If their roles were reversed, Joe thought he might have it in him to raze this town to the ground if that was what it took to help him.

"Rampion Brooklime Easthallow. He's a force of nature, isn't he?" Joe smiled wryly, realizing that there would be no way to stop Ram doing anything he put his mind to once he knew.

"You're only the second person I've talked about this to," he told Astrid. "Ever. And the first was my sister only about a month ago. My sister from my first life who happens to still be alive." Joe pursed his lips. "I feel like the universe is throwing some curveballs right now."

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

sassy_valkyrie
2024-07-09 10:53 pm UTC (link)

Astrid chuckled when she heard the reverence with which Joe said Ram’s full name. “Yes,” she said with a nod and a look on her face that show how much of an understatement she believed that notion to be. “Yes, he is, though I’m not sure there’s really any definition that can fully contain him, other than ‘Ram’.”

The fact that she was only the second person Joe had talked about this to didn’t come as much of a surprise. What did surprise though, wasn’t that it was his sister he had talked to first, but that his sister from his first life still was alive. “Your sister from your first life?” was all she managed to string together, then held up a hand. “I am sure there’s a story there and a reason for that, but I’m not sure now’s the time or place for that. Still, I’m glad you could talk to her. And as for the rest?” She shrugged. “Maybe these curveballs are, I don’t know, a sign that you’ve distanced yourself enough from Asshole Dom. Please don’t ever let it be said that gods reasonable little less logical. Or the universe for that matter.”

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

notalongtime
2024-07-10 05:45 pm UTC (link)

Like a battering ram to my heart, Joe thought, immediately hating himself for being such a sap. There was something about Ram that made Joe feel more like the person he'd been before the knowledge of his curse and past lives had set in.

Joe blew out a breath. "Yeah, that one's not my story to tell. Maybe you'll meet her one day." He couldn't help but grin at 'Asshole Dom', knowing that Domenico was going to hate that; Joe decided that admitting that he could talk to his past lives was probably going to make him look a little crazy. "Or it's just the universe fucking with me. You might find I'm something of a pessimist, sorry." But that was the hand fate had dealt him time and time again.

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

sassy_valkyrie
2024-07-10 08:31 pm UTC (link)

“Something of a pessimist?” Astrid turned and looked up at Joe, the incredulousness painted clearly on her face. “And what, pray tell, is that supposed to be good for?” She held out her empty hands and shook her head. “Nothing. So, what if in a year or so, it turns out that he universe really was just fucking with you, you won’t be there to tell us ‘told you so’. You never said anything about going to an afterlife between your lives, so you won’t be dealing with the loss for years until you eventually join the military again. We will.” She pointed to Ram. “He will.”

She threw her hands up in frustration, though she knew she had no right to do so. But hearing that Joe was fully aware that he was a pessimist just seemed such a waste of wonderfully lived life, no matter how brief or long it might be. “Why not live as if you’ll grow old this time? Why not fight to grow old this time? You say you remember your previous lives? Well, if this life ends too soon, remember me, Astrid Hakansson, and come find me when you remember this life, and I’ll be happy to give you the same speech once again.” She bit her lip to stop herself. “That was out of line. I’m sorry about that.”

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

notalongtime
2024-07-10 09:29 pm UTC (link)

Joe let the rant wash over him, eyes fixed on the distance, but when she pointed at Ram he flinched. Then when Astrid apologized he sighed deeply, shoulders sagging from his usual military posture.

"Don't be." Joe looked down at the ground, trying to find some kind of response that might explain his personal battlefield. "Look, I try, okay?" He touched his tattoo. "Memento mori. I carry that with me every day, something I strive but... But I've been on the frontlines over and over again. I've seen humans drive themselves to war time after time. So even if I live the best version of my life there's a part of me that knows there will be another war, another man with my face to fight in it."

His hand gripped the back of his neck for comfort. "I want to grow old. These memories, they weigh you down. Fate's never been kind to me and it's hard to believe it could change."

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

sassy_valkyrie
2024-07-11 06:01 pm UTC (link)

Astrid nodded as Joe spoke, trying to conjure up what and actual warzone would be like, yet coming up short. The only reference she had, were the battles she had been part of in Valhalla, and they had been for practice. Everybody who’d been slain would be back on their feet and into the melee the very next day, if not by dinner time that same evening. “I understand,” she said simply, recognizing the feeling of going through the same motion, the same dread time and time again, knowing that it wasn’t about to change. The only difference was, that Joe could try to make the best of his life, in the hope that it could break his curse whereas Astrid… That gave her pause, because she did have a way to get out of her situation, but that would require a courage she wasn’t sure she possessed. Yet. “I don’t agree, but I understand.”

She smiled up at him. “Things have already changed,” she told him. “If the curse isn’t broken, then in the next life, when you remember this life, you’ll know that you were once a man, named Joe Russo, and that for a while, you were happy.”

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

notalongtime
2024-07-11 07:38 pm UTC (link)

"I would never let myself forget this," Joe said quietly. Because whoever the next person was to carry this mantle was would have Joe in their dreams like Joe had all the others. Sometimes he had wondered what it would be like to be on that side of things. An advisor or a cautionary tale. And what happened to them between one death and the next awakening of the curse? He'd never thought to ask.

"Whether the curse is broken or not, he's changed my life. I could never forget him." Looking at Astrid, Joe knew that while they might not agree on his outlook, they did agree on doing right by Ram. "He's very lucky to have a friend like you."

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Re: Astrid + Joe (Open to Ram + Michael, for now)

sassy_valkyrie
2024-07-12 08:43 pm UTC (link)

Joe’s comment about Ram being lucky to have a friend like her, had Astrid look up at Joe. The look on her face clearly showed that she didn’t understand what he meant by that. She looked back to Ram, thinking back to when they had first met. How he had given her all the things she had asked that she absolutely didn’t need – enough alcohol to fell a horse and a night in bed to take her mind truly off the collection that had sent her to the bar – and then a morning with all the things she really needed: someone who would listen.

“No,” she said simply, shaking head. “I’m the lucky one in that friendship.”

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