Something about a book and its cover? Or a song and its album cover.
I’m waiting for an outrageous lie now, you know. The next time I come home and something ridiculous is going on behind my back.
Hm, well, the first two that come to mind are business-related. Where I come from, you ask “how down” when asking how injured you want someone. One of my crew from Ravka used to ask “over or under” to mean the same thing, what degree should the attack be at. Another one around here is asking “what business” to ask what someone wants, and someone I know from Novyi Zem just asks “working or playing” for a shorthand version of their own.
I couldn’t encourage what wasn’t present in some capacity already.
Ghouls sound a little like a gang’s lieutenants. Being sent out on business for their boss. Perhaps I should tell Jesper that he can go by that instead. So the language can work both ways, of course.
It’s definitely superior to receiving compliments myself, though that’s not my sole motivation for doing it.
Two glaring distinctions. The longevity part is an unfortunate one, but I thankfully don’t find the loyalty aspect to be complicated between us. I know you talked some on ghouls in the past, and how they're compelled to do what they're told.
What are your other motivations? Or are they secret ones I can only find by snooping on your stationary?
It's a compulsion in degrees. Some are bound to only one Kindred, which makes the blood tie between them a lot stronger. Others are bound to a clan, or a court. They'll take blood from multiple Kindred, which makes the compulsion aspect weaker, but in general they're just as loyal.
Forcing a ghoul to do something even outside our very dark gray areas can be punishable, too. At the very least, it usually earns you the distrust of other Kindred.
Nothing particularly secret this time around, simply that I also meant it.
Behavior like that is sadly not restricted to simply Kindred, though the means for control are different. Only most of human society still doesn't care unless it impacts them personally or they're feeling particularly performative that day.
It's unfortunate that it happens at all. Each relationship is different with them, even among my Sisters, but being wantonly cruel to a ghoul is looked at poorly from all sides. Should be looked at poorly no matter what their status, but I guess it's something to keep singing about.
You do. Although time is never something I let myself count on, not fully. I know certain things will take years, or in this case centuries, but I don’t trust it, if that makes sense.
Then again, I’ve been on borrowed time for over a decade, so my perspective is as skewed as anyone’s.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-09-16 04:05 pm (UTC)I’m waiting for an outrageous lie now, you know. The next time I come home and something ridiculous is going on behind my back.
Hm, well, the first two that come to mind are business-related. Where I come from, you ask “how down” when asking how injured you want someone. One of my crew from Ravka used to ask “over or under” to mean the same thing, what degree should the attack be at. Another one around here is asking “what business” to ask what someone wants, and someone I know from Novyi Zem just asks “working or playing” for a shorthand version of their own.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 04:16 pm (UTC)Oh, I've got a few lined up waiting for the right moment. Gonna have to wait a bit, though, for you to forget you're expecting it.
Those are all very good to know. And I think I've heard "what business" before, so it's stretched out to Kindred speech now, too.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 04:44 pm (UTC)Has it? I’m curious to know the overlap there, or if it’s just general cultural osmosis.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 04:47 pm (UTC)Some clans stay very closely tied to Kine business, either personally or through their ghouls, depending on a whole hose of other factors.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 05:03 pm (UTC)Ghouls sound a little like a gang’s lieutenants. Being sent out on business for their boss. Perhaps I should tell Jesper that he can go by that instead. So the language can work both ways, of course.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 09:00 pm (UTC)They kind of are, though with more complicated loyalties and ensured longevity. There's quite a few out there older than I am.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 10:11 pm (UTC)Two glaring distinctions. The longevity part is an unfortunate one, but I thankfully don’t find the loyalty aspect to be complicated between us. I know you talked some on ghouls in the past, and how they're compelled to do what they're told.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 10:22 pm (UTC)It's a compulsion in degrees. Some are bound to only one Kindred, which makes the blood tie between them a lot stronger. Others are bound to a clan, or a court. They'll take blood from multiple Kindred, which makes the compulsion aspect weaker, but in general they're just as loyal.
Forcing a ghoul to do something even outside our very dark gray areas can be punishable, too. At the very least, it usually earns you the distrust of other Kindred.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 10:49 pm (UTC)Behavior like that is sadly not restricted to simply Kindred, though the means for control are different. Only most of human society still doesn't care unless it impacts them personally or they're feeling particularly performative that day.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 10:56 pm (UTC)It's unfortunate that it happens at all. Each relationship is different with them, even among my Sisters, but being wantonly cruel to a ghoul is looked at poorly from all sides. Should be looked at poorly no matter what their status, but I guess it's something to keep singing about.
no subject
Date: 2023-09-16 11:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-17 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-17 01:36 pm (UTC)Then again, I’ve been on borrowed time for over a decade, so my perspective is as skewed as anyone’s.