ring_for_giles | Come Sail Away Inbox

ok so long as i didnt fuck anythin up
im rootin 4 u guys TBH
LMK how it goes or doesnt go or w/e u kno where to find me if u need me
(its the bar)

I will need some time to think about all of this, but I'm sure you'll be the first to know if anything happens.

Thank you for the support.

[Literally like, ten minutes later, in a completely different text conversation...]

[ less than a minute after Sharky's text to Pratt ]

Sharky. Who did you tell?

[???? he didn't tell anyone anything!]

wat???

You told someone what I told you in confidence. Who was it?

the fuck are you talking about no i didn't
also how the fuck would you know if i did
i swear to god if you did some fuckin magic on me man im gonna be pissed
the only person i talk abt u 2 is pratt neway n i didnt say SHIT abt wat u said

oh ok
was it this

>theyre hellsa gay 4 each other its gonna b like
>romantic AF
>candles n shit
>like himbo n the beast

Yes.
That will have done it.

I suppose I cannot blame you, I should have expected you would tell Deputy Pratt.

This might be better explained in person.

HE ALREADY THOUGHT YOU WERE BANGING HOW DOES THAT DO IT!!!!???
i never hide anything from pratt hes my ride or die u gotta kno that by now!!

ughghghghghgh you fuckin ass hole man
im at tauva u need me u can come get me otherwise just txt it man

[ There's no response via text, but a few minutes later Giles is standing behind Sharky in Tuava. Whether Sharky was watching the door or not, he won't have seen Giles come in. The first sign of his presence is his voice, low and overly calm ]

Whatever he thought was going on, is not the same as knowing. It is not the same as being told something that would not have been shared had you not agreed to secrecy.

[Sharky just glares at the air in front of him like he didn't hear anything.]

I ain't sayin' shit to you until I know I'm not gonna get fuckin' magically bound to some stupid fuckin' rules I don't know about.

Alright.

[ Giles nods, not that Sharky would necessarily see it for he makes no move from where he is, and after a long moment of thinking over the wording, he speaks again ]

From now until we both leave this room, I will bind no pledge beyond this one unless you agree with full knowledge and forwarning of the details and consequences of said pledge. In addition, for the same duration, neither one of us will act with aggression towards the other, and I will answer any questions you have with the whole truth to the best of my knowledge and ability to do so. Should either of us break this pledge, let any food or drink that passes the lips of he who breaks it taste of ash for twenty four hours from the time when it is broken.

[ He pauses for a moment, to allow Sharky time to process ]

Is that agreeable to you? I can write it down, if you would prefer.

[Lots of words and Sharky is drinking and ugh. Ugh. Magic sucks. He hates it.

But he does listen and yeah, okay, he can agree. Kinda fucked that Giles figured he'd need to put in a whole nonviolence clause, but yeah, he's never seen Sharky mad before. Probably makes sense from his perspective.]

...Nah, that's fine, I agree to your terms or conditions or whatever. [GRUMP GRUMP GRUMP] Still a huge dick move, man.

[ The nonviolence clause is as much for Sharky's benefit as his own, because Giles is seething and he's not sure just how much of that he can keep down. Even if logically he knows this isn't really Sharky's fault. Still, the pledge is sealed, bound up into the Wyrd and made final with Sharky's agreement to the terms. ]

I will not apologise for my actions, as it would be a disservice to us both given that I have no remorse over it. I made it clear to you that secrecy on the matter was important to me, and you broke that confidence.

[Hhhh. On one hand? Point. Yeah, fair. But on the other hand--]

If you'd told me you were gonna magic Mike me, I wouldn't've agreed. So, like. Kinda on you for tricking me.

[A LOUD huff before he throws back the last of his whiskey.]

...Fine, sorry. Not like Pratt should count, but fine. Don't fuckin' do that to me ever again, though. I don't do weird magic brainwashing shit, man. I don't.

[On the plus side, he hasn't moved from his spot so he hasn't experienced the repercussions of breaking a pledge in the first place!]

Edited 2022-08-30 06:53 (UTC)

I will not make promises I do not know that I can keep, but I will say that in future I will do my best to at least give you the relevant information, and if you would rather I never speak to you again I will accept that.

[ He pauses, contemplates leaving it at that, but the comparison to brainwashing rankles him almost as much as the broken pledge. The though of altering a person's very mind is abhorrent, and a line he would never cross so long as he had any other choice ]

It is not brainwashing, though, when a pledge is sealed all parties are still free to make their own decisions. A fact that should be clear as we would not be having this conversation at all if it were otherwise.

Yeah, that's what they all say.

[Ugh. It's not even -- it's nothing like the shit the cult pulled but man does it give him the same white-hot hate vibes. All we do is tell you a bunch of fucked up stuff, give you some laced kool-aid and then "it's your choice (but not really)" if you wanna follow along or get drowned by John and Joseph in the fuckin' river.

Like, the whole ship is fucked up if he thinks about it for longer than five minutes but, whatever, that's like god-tier fuckery, what is he supposed to do about it? But talking with a friend isn't supposed to end up with some fucking spell-bonded bullshit.]

...No, fuck. You're right. I just.

[Apparently can't finish that sentence? As he glares at nothing so hard his eyes start to sting. Ugh. Man up, bitch.]

The cult that fucked Pratt up used some pretty fucked up, underhanded magic bullshit on top of regular cult bullshit. So... just... don't fucking do that, okay? Really, I'm fuckin' sorry and I'm not gonna say shit again but just. Don't.

[Awww fuck no he is not gonna start getting so angry he cries! That's bullshit, he is a fifty-four-year-old man who hasn't had to deal with Peggies since the world ended! The fuck is he getting triggered for???]

[ Ah.
Shit.

It really shouldn't have taken the fact that it looks like Sharky might be on the verge of tears to knock Giles out of his own head and into the real world, but here he is. ]

I - hmm. [ He stops, thinking, but not too much. He can't sit and formulate all the right words because that would take too long, and he needs to say something now ] I should have considered how it might feel to you. I am- I am sorry for that. I cannot say I would not have acted the same had I realised, as I do not know for certain, but I should have taken your experiences into consideration instead of merely my own petty concerns.

[ He'd been standing unmoving in the one spot up until this point, but now he takes a seat at the bar beside Sharky. Head down and watching his hands.

He feels like an ass. ]

[They're rage tears. Manly tears. Tears that get blinked away just as soon as they show up, like the little cowardly bastards they are. Because Sharky? He's a manly man, who isn't gonna let some stupid dumb magic prank upset him. He's gonna get so drunk the magic won't even know what hit it. Starting with whatever drink comes his way when he waves his hand for one.]

...They're not petty concerns, man. It's totally fuckin' fair to like. Not want people talkin' about you behind your back. And like, if I could magically make sure people at least feel really shitty about doing it, I'd... probably be makin' weird deals all over the fuckin' place.

[And Sharky feels like a real piece of shit, so at least they both??? Got something out of this?]

...I promise Pratt ain't gonna say shit to anybody. If he does, no magic needed, I'll kick his ass mano y mano. But he ain't.

They're not designed to make someone feel bad, although there is a sort of retributive justice to it, and I'm sure some do use them in that way. That's not generally why I choose to bind Pledges, though. In this instance I wanted forewarning if my secret was likely to get out, and this was the simplest solution.

[ He turns to look at Sharky finally, although there's some part of him that feels like maybe he shouldn't be allowed that. But he feels the need to watch the reaction as he gives the last bit of information that he's almost certain will land him permanently in Sharky's bad books. ]

I should probably warn you, I don't know quite what consequence you will suffer as I didn't define one, but the Wyrd always inflicts itself upon those who break a pledge. I didn't weave much magic into it so it won't be anything dire at least. A reflection turned backwards for a time, or a run of bad luck are common in this sort of circumstance.

[ He looks away again, and far more quietly adds ]

And... Thank you, I am surprised you would so readily promise me something again, but it means a lot.

[Yeah, that makes sense. It's stupid unfair but, like, he's got magic powers. Of course, he's gonna fuckin' use them to learn when his big gay secret gets out.

Still: the consequences of his actions??? Laaaaaaaaame. Wasn't apologizing enough??] Ughhhh, lame, dude. Okay, well, I guess gettin' drunk would be a bad idea then... [And yet! He is going to just go ahead and drink. The way he sees it, if he's too drunk to notice it's magic, it won't bother him.]

Well, first of all, that's just a regular ass-whoopin' promise, not a magic one. Unless I accidentally made it magic, in that case, my bad, I'll own up to that. Second of all, stupid easy to keep, Pratt's solid. He's a cop, he knows how to lock shit down.

[Third of all, he likes Giles and he feels really fuckin' sour about both breaking and getting worked up over some stupid magic pact. It wasn't cool to go spilling Giles' shit out, even if it was just to Pratt. Giles couldn't have known who Sharky was gonna tell, and like he and Ossie kept fuckin' saying, keeping shit locked down was goddamn imperative. TBH, he should've seen it coming the second he saw Giles and Ossie had a magic fucking Fantasia house...

He eyes Giles for a moment, takes a big drink, then heaves a sigh.]

I should be thankin' you for not just straight up deckin' me when you rolled up. You had no idea who I could'a told, and you and I had just fuckin' talked about, like, discretion and shit. So, thanks for not punching me.

Edited (EM not E) 2022-08-30 11:01 (UTC)

Not a course of action I would advise, no, but I can understand why you would anyway.

[ Giles orders himself a drink too, because honestly he needs it. All the things rattling around in his brain are starting to take their toll and there's only so long he can keep up with it all ]

You can't accidentally form a Pledge, it requires a Changeling or someone else able to manipulate the Wyrd to bind it. Although here I'm not so sure of that, there may be other rules at play that I'm not familiar with.

[ He hesitates at the thanks, because he really doesn't feel he deserves it. ]

It was a nearer thing than I'd care to admit

[Good to know it's not gonna be so easy to accidentally fuck up a promise, at least...]

Eh, understandable. Bad enough I started fuckin' sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong... I sure as shit learned my fuckin' lesson.

[Not that he needs to... It's pretty much in the bag, man! Just as long as one of them doesn't stick their foot so far in their mouth that it comes out their ass...]

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