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 Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 7:51 pm
Was? "Was" was not the sort of word you wanted to hear in reference to parents. So Sylvia's mother had either lost her job or, worse, had passed away. Brian didn't feel like now was the proper time to ask. he'd already seemed to have upset Sylvia a little with his questions before and this one would probably be worse. Instead he just nodded.
"Oh, yeah, they just loved it," Brian said with a snort. "I mean, there was that one guy Allie more or less hired me to get rid of, but that's a whole other story." He wiped his bottom lip with a thumb and shook his head. "Nah. Well, I mean, sometimes. They just didn't have the ammunition to get them to go away. They haven't liked a few,but I think at a certain point they just started rolling their eyes at me." Besides, it had been a long time since his last real date. He wasn't about to admit that, though. "They know what they're talking about, though. They really do. They see things I never did as the boyfriend, but I guess that's how it always works."
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 11:13 pm
Sylvia laughed. She could imagine they didn’t always appreciate it, at least not at the time, but still. It was a nice thought, having a big brother to look out for you and make sure that you were making good choices. Trying to make sure that you ended up with the best person possible – who would treat you well and help you improve and support you through life. People often couldn’t see those things for themselves.
“Mmm,” she lifted her head from her knees to nod, “that’s often how it works, yes.” She gave a slightly amused smile, settling her chin once more. “Good to know they’re looking out for you, in whatever way they can.” She squinted a bit, “When you say they didn’t have the ammunition – do they just not want to tell you if they dislike your girlfriends? Or are you just too stubborn to hear what they have to say?” She was honestly fascinated at the idea of a Brian too stubborn to hear outside commentary, especially from the sisters he appeared to adore, though perhaps it wouldn’t surprise her. Lots of people were stubborn in relationships.[ 191; 2,598 total ]
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 12:52 pm
"Oh, no, they let me know," Brian said with a laugh. "They just can't throw on their fatigues and scare the bejeebus out of them themselves. I guess I didn't want to hear it. I'd defend my girl, but damned if they didn't make me notice somethin' I didn't wanna see. I'm stubborn that way, though. I decided we could work on it, or we could make it regardless." Unfortunately, that had gotten him into quite a dramatic soap-opera-style event there in the middle, but screw Jen. She wasn't even worth mentioning.
"How about you? Has Bellami ever picked up the proverbial torch and pitchfork?" He remembered the friend's name easily, but perhaps only because it had been trained into him to listen closely for inconsistencies. He didn't imagine that Sylvia was lying to him, however.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:22 pm
Sylvia laughed, “Yeah, I can imagine your background helps.” Sylvia sighed and gave a shrug, “Some things can definitely be worked out, but others just can’t… Not always because they’re impossible changes, but sometimes it isn’t the right time or the right situation, or… any number of things, really.” She tilted her head, a little smile crossing her lips as she squinted her eyes over at Brian, “But I assume they eventually got their way and had you see straight?” She wouldn’t be surprised if she just hadn’t been around to hear about a girlfriend, but she didn’t think Brian would be the one to hide it at all. She got the feeling, however, that Brian didn’t have someone at the moment… Not that it was her business, but it had come up, so.
Another chuckle and Sylvia rolled her eyes at Brian’s follow-up question. “Oh, boy, did she. She was not a fan of at least two of my boyfriends. She is about as blunt as I am, at least with me, so she made sure to voice her concerns to me whenever they came up.” Then again, voicing concerns was very different from a ‘torch and pitchfork’ situation, she imagined. Bellami was stern, but not always insistent. She would trust that her voice had been heard and leave it at that, for the most part. “Which is good, I think we all need someone to help us see clearly.”
Sylvia shook her head lightly, lips pursed, “Though the ‘torch and pitchfork’ part usually came after the relationship ended. She gets very intense when my heart gets broken. She’s also told off at least two of my exes.” Sylvia took a quick breath through gritted teeth and a grimace, but then laughed remembering it. It was nice to have someone who cared so much, who wasn’t a parent or in some way obligated. Sylvia conceded with a tilt of her head, “Though, to be fair, I get the same way with her if she’s dating someone I dislike, or if her heart was broken.” Despite all of her knowing better, Sylvia got very protective of her friends.[ 358; 2,956 total ] grasshopper pie_boopforedits
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2016 11:52 am
"Well they didn't ever say they'd won, but yeah. When things don't go they just don't go. No amount of wanting it to be different is going to change anything." Boy was that a phrase to live by. s**t got rough sometimes and all you could do was keep going forward.
He laughed at Sylvia's explanation of Bellami. "I'm glad you have someone looking out for you, though! Even if you don't want to agree. It's even better when they're willing to smack-talk your exes after. I had one really bad breakup and I can't say for sure, but I think someone might have given her what-for while I was away. Hell, I wanted to myself but she refused to ever answer my calls. Romance is tough stuff."
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 12:30 am
Sylvia nodded. That was certainly true – or, at least could be true. She had seen some miraculous turn-arounds if both parties wanted change enough and were truly willing to work together. But that often took a lot more work and compromise than most people were willing to give.
Sylvia laughed and nodded again – it was a good thing. Even when she didn’t always want to hear people point out concerns or huge, unavoidable flaws, she did appreciate someone trying to help her know better when her emotions were too much in the way. And she had to agree that it was particularly pleasing to have someone take-up arms after the split, even if it wasn’t particularly ‘good’ in most general senses.
“It is certainly tough, I’ll give you that.” Sylvia gave playful frown of consideration to Brian’s speculation. “Maybe she didn’t want to hear it twice, then?” She shrugged, leaning forward a bit, “Though, I’m sure if you wanted to give her what-for, she deserved it.” Had they known each other a bit longer, Sylvia would have asked what happened. She wanted to now, but she wasn’t sure if they were in that territory yet – even if she already instinctively felt a ping of emotion that someone had upset Brian so much; and, it sounded like, possibly quite recently, if ‘while he was away’ meant gone on one of their missions. As it was, she would let him expand on the situation if he wanted to.[ 246; 3,202 total ]
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:34 pm
"She was a bit of a coward," Brian admitted with a little shrug, "but if she could see me now! Chosen by the Big Guy of the Greek pantheon and shooting up birds n' s**t." He pinched his lower lip as if in thought and then smiled. Eh. Screw Jen.
"Anyway. Thanks for coming over. I appreciate it. Hopefully I didn't do anything horrible that I don't remember?" He quirked a brow. Please tell him he hadn't done anything else!
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:42 am
A light giggle escaped Sylvia. She would probably never have attributed the phrase ‘birds n’ s**t’ to Brian if someone asked her. It was great, though. She raised her brows with a nod, “It is rather impressive. I’m sure she’d be very disappointed in herself for letting you go.” Sylvia’s brows furrowed and she shook her head, “Though, really, that should be a given now. The blessing of Zeus is just a bit harder to ignore.”
She felt like she should be preparing herself to go and give Brian his space back when he moved on, but then he started to ask about the previous night. A teasing smile crawled over her lips as she thought back on the night before and tried to insinuate that he had done much worse than he could imagine. “How much do you remember?” She was actually a bit curious if he had gotten to a point where he couldn’t remember things. She had known he’d be hurting, but perhaps she had even underestimated how many times he’d refilled his cup.
Truth be told, though, she hadn’t seen him as much the previous night as she would have liked once they parted. She had caught sight of him a few times, but when all was said and done, “I would love to tease you more, but no, you didn’t do much more than let yourself loosen up with the punch and get dragged out on the dance floor probably a few more times than you otherwise would have.” She had even considered dragging him out herself.[ 262; 3,464 total ]
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2017 7:50 pm
Brian was pleased to have made Sylvia laugh, even just a little. It didn't show on his face, but he felt it in his chest. He was making friends here, and not just work friends. Sure, there were Chosen he only really saw in the field, but he had a handful now that he really honestly liked to see back at the dorms, and they seemed to like him too. It was a new sort of friendship, one he hadn't known in a long time. Why it was mostly with women, though, was still unknown to him. He blamed his sisters, personally.
In a moment his brow arched and his head turned slightly to the side. How much did he remember? Had he been that drunk? He remembered his last dance with Misha, so unless something bad had happened while everyone was filing out...
"Oh! Good. Phew!" he said with an easy smile, "I mean, not that I didn't make a fool of myself and potentially put some nicks in my reputation, but I had fun. I haven't been drunk in a long time... I mean, not more than tipsy, because I get, uh... like that." Touchy-feely, candid, emotional. At least it hadn't gone wrong this time, if grinding on your coworkers and friends wasn't considered "wrong." Eesh.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:49 am
His reaction wasn’t big, but it was worth it to tease him and make him second-guess himself. Sylvia chuckled and it slid into a knowing hum before she brightened. “Well, having fun is the point! If you enjoyed yourself, then it was worth the side-eyes.” She teased again, but if pressed she couldn’t say anything bad about his dancing or his behavior, really. He was a fine dancer, if not brilliant, and with as much alcohol as had been provided, no one could judge anyone else’s drunkenness. Sylvia gave a light shake of her head. “Drunk you isn’t so bad.”
She scooted back slightly and leaned back on her hands again. “There’s a reason I didn’t indulge in too much punch. I wasn’t ready to show everyone my drunken self.” It wasn’t embarrassment so much as a level of comfort she had yet to reach. While others drank to become comfortable, Sylvia didn’t like getting drunk in groups she wasn’t already largely acquainted with. She liked knowing that someone would have her back – or, stereotypically, her hair – if things went sour or someone tried to take advantage. Not that she thought anyone there would take advantage, and she could usually keep her wits about her, but nonetheless it was the point of it. She trusted a few people, but still didn’t know many of her peers beyond name, and that was important for her.
Still, she narrowed her eyes at Brian and chose to share. “I get fairly touchy-feely – I’m already inclined to physical touch and affection with friends, it’s just more so when I get drunk. But,” she held up a finger, “I counter it with becoming even more of a mother hen.” As if that balanced anything. She seemed to want to make up for bad, or ‘questionable’, decisions by seeming even more responsible and reliable. Whether it worked or not, she couldn’t really say. For whatever that was worth (perhaps to ease any embarrassment), now Brian knew, even if he hadn’t yet seen Sylvia drunk.[ 338; 3,802 total ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 3:42 pm
Brian had had his reasons forgetting drunk, but he supposed he wouldn't have anyway if he wasn't comfortable with the group. Sylvia had a good point there. He knew he'd get a bit touchy-feely, so he had to trust whoever he was going to get touchy-feely with. The alcohol had definitely loosened him up, though, and sometimes he needed it. It wasn't every day you got booted off the force.
"Don't worry, Drunk Me would keep an eye out for Drunk You," he promised with a smile, "He might just want more hugs than usual because that's how it goes." Hopefully it would just be hugs. He considered Sylvia a friend for certain, but he hoped he wouldn't be dragging her off on the dance floor. She seemed above that somehow. Sweeter. He realized that the thought was probably ridiculous (everyone liked to have fun sometimes) and decided that the next time there was a party he might just have to try it, just maybe more feet and arms and less hips and hands.
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2017 5:33 pm
An amused grin crossed Sylvia’s features and she scrunched her nose briefly in delight. “Aw, well, I’m sure Drunk Me will thank Drunk You profusely. And so long as Drunk You is alright with cuddles, I doubt he’ll have any problems with getting more hugs than usual.” She chuckled a bit, “He may not even have to ask.” Even she forgot to ask for hugs terribly often when she was actually drunk – she usually latched onto a friend or two and only thought to ask after she’d already been cuddling and it was decently clear that the cuddling was at least tolerated, if not perfectly fine (or even welcome).
She tilted her head a bit, “Luckily I don’t think there’s much to worry about aside from the cuddling and a bit of mother-henning with me. Though, I can be even more forthcoming than usual, I guess. If I’ve previously decided to bite back any opinions with you before for any reason, you may not escape without finally hearing about it.” She laughed and rolled her eyes at herself. She was often blunt anyway, but she sometimes knew when it was only a matter of time, and other times tried to keep herself from falling back on professional habits with people she didn’t know well. Being drunk just took away enough of her care for social norms and expectations.
“You hear all the time that ‘alcohol makes people honest,’ or ‘does away with people’s inhibitions,’ but sometimes it’s hard to tell if that’s true or if it just makes people make stupid decisions.” She laughed, leaning forward to prop her elbows on her knees, cradle her chin in her hands, and eye Brain curiously while biting at a grin. Cuddles she was good with. She’d once had someone pick her up and carry her away to dunk in a pool – that, she was less okay with. She also had more than a couple people try to use drunkenness as an excuse for getting handsy, which was entirely different than touchy-feely, and absolutely not something she ‘understood’ under any circumstances. She sighed, “I hate when people used that as an excuse, though, whether or not it’s true.” You could always tell when they were falling back on that, too.[ 377; 4,179 total ]
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2017 4:04 pm
"I'm sure Drunk Me can handle it. After all, Sober Me likes you well enough." It came out as a compliment, though. He liked her more than "enough," but a real admission of emotion was hard for him. Hopefully Sylvia understood, from the smile on his face. Then it was all agreement with her talk about blabbing. He had done that plenty of times and never learned to stay away or laugh it off until the next morning. "Uh-huh. I do that too. it can get bad." Of course Sylvia now knew about his whole family, so all that was left to spill was the real deep stuff.
Then it was on to inhibitions, and he was about to agree again when he saw something odd come across Sylvia's face. Uh-oh. Was there someone he had to go talk to?
"I think it's true to a point but it's no excuse, no." A lot of his calls back home involved one or more drunk folk, and sometimes it was much worse than others. If a lady had gotten drunk... well. She had said "used," but hopefully it was just a general sort of statement. "Men can be real asshats." Immature and/or arrogant mostly. He'd lived with it for years.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:41 pm
Sylvia grinned, “Glad to hear it. Sober Me thinks you’re alright, too.” She chuckled a bit, perhaps not entirely surprised that Brian might get chatty with enough liquid encouragement. Granted, that seemed not unheard of for many people as it was. Still, she was a little excited at the possibility of getting to know Drunk Brian and learn more about him someday. “Well, we’ll make a good pair, talking up a storm and cuddling as we do.”
Sylvia figured that unfortunately a lot of the time alcohol did provide an excuse for any number of behaviors. She had seen some ugly sides of people come out, not just because alcohol loosened them up, but because they could finally use it as a reason that they ‘lost their filter’ or whatever. She rolled her eyes a bit and sighed, though her expression was still light, “Yes, they certainly can.” She gave a small tilt of her head, “Though I’ve known plenty of women to become idiots as well.” She scrunched her nose and continued, “I tend to distance myself when I discover the ugly ones, though. It isn’t worth the strain. And if you aren’t a generally nice person, it certainly seems to show when you get alcohol in you.”
She smiled again, “I’m glad no one here became terrible.” On that night, at least. Certainly, eventually, something could – almost certainly would – happen, but she would appreciate the general calm as long as it lasted.
Sylvia leaned forward slightly, suddenly a little worried she was too comfortable or taking up too much of Brian’s recovery time. She offered a concerned smile, “So, how are you feeling? Has the ibuprofen kicked in yet?”[ 281; 4,460 total ]
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2017 12:07 pm
"Oh, yeah. I've seen that too." Women could be just as violent when a little liquid courage roused them up. Sometimes it was even more so, as they didn't really stand the threat of someone punching them back. That became somewhat of a problem in the police field, but you did what you could.
He tactfully avoided thinking about cuddling and chatting with Sylvia. He might have blushed if he had, but considered it instead just an offhanded comment about what Drunk Them would probably get up to. Drunk Brian and Sober Brian were the same person, but conducted themselves fairly differently.
"Yeah, actually. Thanks for that." He looked toward the ibuprofin bottle and then to his Gatorade bottle, pretty much abandoned even as close as it was. His mouth suddenly felt dry. "Of course if I was drunk enough for you to worry..." He shrugged playfully and took another swig of sports-drink.
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