build me up — open

[roman.]

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— roman ought to consider himself lucky that he never had to learn how to fight for himself. there was never the need for him to learn combat when he was growing up. he grew up with the snide arrogance that he could use his sharp tongue and sharp wits to get himself out of a situation - and, if that didn’t work, then it was easier to run than to try and waste his energy in fighting back. cassius always told him that there was no use in fighting when a getaway was both quicker and more convenient -- and ro always considered that to be fact. though the more he grew up, and the more he surrounded himself with the crowd that he did, the more he realized that he ought to start learning how to defend himself. sooner rather than later.

he just didn’t have the pride to ask.

especially around bluestem, where it seemed like everyone knew how to handle their own in all sorts of ways. knives, hand-to-hand, guns. roman didn’t want to make himself look like a fool in a place where he constantly felt as though he had something to prove. guess that was why he saw the district as his chance to get in some practice out in the open. standing a ways away from a few cans set up as his target, he tried to line up his first shot - bang -- and slumping his shoulders when he didn’t manage to hit a single can. lowering his hands down to his side, he sighed to himself, staring at the cans that stood almost tauntingly unscathed in front of him.

“target practice?”

he knew the gunfire would bring a little bit of attention. roman glanced towards mickey before he looked back towards the cans. “trying to.” mick’s gaze followed his towards the cans, stoic features lingering on the unsuccessful attempt. rome’s face twitched briefly as he worked to swallow his pride. “do you know anything about firing a gun? fighting?” roman tried not to sound condescending, though he couldn’t help but doubt it. after all, what did a medic need to know about combat? he wouldn’t be the first to throw lucerne and mickey onto the frontlines. still, mickey’s reaction couldn’t help but make him pause briefly. mickey was one of the hardest people to read, yet roman was perceptive enough to watch the way his lips twitched just momentarily. a ghost of amusement, almost, across otherwise stoic features. so briefly there ro always wondered if he’d imagined it all. mick decided to step a bit closer then, hands in his pockets as he offered, “i could try and help. if you want.”

shrugging, roman looked back towards the cans. “sure.” much as he hated to admit it, he could use the help.

[spoiler=tags ― updated 02/27.][size=8pt]◜BASICS ┊ FEEL ENTITLED TO A SENSE OF CONTROL ◞
‣  ❝ roman lee darrow ❞ | rome, ro | male [he/him] .
‣ 27 years old . | december 27th; capricorn.
‣  currently second in command of bluestem prairie
↳ has a dual-alliance between bluestem prairie and northstar district

◜PERSONALITY ┊ MAKE DECISIONS YOU THINK ARE YOUR OWN ◞
‣ clever . observant . “people smart” . witty . quick-thinking . intelligent . determined . sneaky . argumentative . selfish . judgmental . blunt . stoic . distrustful . distant . detached . cunning .
↳ hobbies include: pushing peoples’ buttons, pickpocketing, conning, making the odds stack up in his favor, and making everyone else’s lives ten times harder
↳ currently stressed about the imminent war between flintlock lodge and bluestem prairie

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ LET ME LOOK AT THE SUN ◞
‣ five foot seven & one hundred and sixty five pounds ; reference .
↳ brown hair, short and messy
↳ has overall muscle tone - a little on the slimmer side
↳ pale blue eyes , an unimpressed look , judging

◜ FAMILY ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE ◞
‣  john darrow x mary darrow | whereabouts unknown
↳ abandoned roman a few years ago after roman explained disinterest in the family’s way of life
‣ two brothers named cassius (“cas”) and august (“gus”)
↳ cassius and roman were extremely close growing up. inseparable.
‣ two sisters named livia (“livvy”) and julia (“ju")
↳ livvy and roman had a love-hate relationship . roman adored julia
‣ owns three dogs with frank: coca cola (cola), pookie number 2 (pooks), and angus
↳ more-so considered children than pets

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | grew up disinterested in pursuing relationships
‣ ex-lover to killian crowley
↳ short-lived . ended after killian explained he’d already met (and lost) his soulmate
‣ husband to franklin darrow
↳ considers him his other half .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ SEE ME BARE MY TEETH FOR YOU ◞
‣  [ 10/10 ] physically  |  [ 6/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very easy ] | difficulty w/ melees [ moderate ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ moderate ]
‣ [member=1512]elysian.[/member] | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .[/size][/spoiler]

[GREENIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Fighting was all that Green knew. Rarely, he’d seek one, but mostly he would have been thrown into one where he could choose to defend himself or run. As a kid on the streets who understood that his malnourished, gangling frame would serve no benefit in a fight, the latter seemed to be the only answer in most cases. Running away was a powerful instinct. It never made him cowardly, but it made him well versed on how to pick a fight well. Once Gus taught him how to fight defensively, it became all that Green knew. The technique to be able to stand up for himself when the time came. Green had never considered the use of guns, however. In fact, he’d never even harmed a person with a gun before; all practice he had was minimal as Gus would insist he shoot at hanging sandbags. The power and sound of guns still made Green flinch every time.

Head whipped up as he heard a gunshot, heart leaping into his throat as he anticipated more danger on the horizon. As much as he wanted to walk away, avoid the fact that someone out there had a gun that had the ability to be used on him, Green had a responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone here. He walked swiftly through the District, soon coming across Roman and Mickey doing target practice. Shoulders slumped with relief, watching the pair of them from the distance before he slowly began to approach. ❝ Is Mick giving you a shooting lesson? ❞ Greenie asked as he stopped nearby, arms hugging his torso as he glanced over towards the cans. ❝ You’re in the best hands. He’s really good. ❞ Gaze slowly turned to look over towards Mickey, fond smile growing to his lips before looking at Roman.

He’d never seen Roman with a weapon before, personally, but the both of them were so good at escaping situations before it ever got to that point. That was how they had made it so far as a duo in their childhood, anyways. But, the world was ever-changing, Green was slowly coming to find. Sometimes, people had to evolve in their ways in order to survive. Whilst running away was easy, fighting back was brave. All of one and none of the other was foolishness, and a balance of fight or flight was discerning. They all had to start to learn that somewhere, even if it began with a couple of tin cans and a handgun. He chose not to say anything else for now in favour of watching Roman learn.

[roman.]

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— roman used to not once think of himself nor the things he did as cowardly. of course, back in those days, he had been just a kid in a family full of people with their own talents - and roman believing that he possessed every possible talent under the sun. there might have been small hiccups in his life, plans that didn’t go as expected, but not once did they make him feel less-than. they had always been opportunities to learn and grow more than anything. made him a better man because of it. however, with this new life he found himself in, the more he started to realize just how much of a coward he was. lightyears behind others in their own well-versed combat skills, he felt the desperate need to catch up and improve. if a medic was able to teach him how to shoot, then didn’t that show just how far behind he was?

he couldn’t always rely on frank to save his ass. it was about time he learned how to be brave. mickey had already started giving him a few pointers before green had made his way over, roman sighing and lowering the handgun. “yeah? you ever had a shooting lesson?” he asked, gesturing towards the unscathed tin cans in front of them casually. although he could hide his shame fairly well behind the stoic mask he wore, he could feel the embarrassment threatening to redden his face. just what he needed; to be knocked down another peg.

mick urged him to try and take a shot, and after a few awkward moments of rome aligning his sights on a tin can, he squeezed the trigger. he felt almost shocked to hear the shot collide with a tin can, the object landing a ways away. ”holy shit.”
"not bad," mickey remarked.
ro really hadn’t expected much to come out of this, though suddenly he wasn’t feeling nearly as ill as before. his stoic act almost broke as he huffed a short breath, lips threatening to twitch upward. looking towards green, he gestured with his head towards the leftover cans. “want to give it a go?” he didn’t think he’d ever seen his friend fire a gun, before.

[spoiler=tags ― updated 02/27.][size=8pt]◜BASICS ┊ FEEL ENTITLED TO A SENSE OF CONTROL ◞
‣  ❝ roman lee darrow ❞ | rome, ro | male [he/him] .
‣ 27 years old . | december 27th; capricorn.
‣  currently second in command of bluestem prairie
↳ has a dual-alliance between bluestem prairie and northstar district

◜PERSONALITY ┊ MAKE DECISIONS YOU THINK ARE YOUR OWN ◞
‣ clever . observant . “people smart” . witty . quick-thinking . intelligent . determined . sneaky . argumentative . selfish . judgmental . blunt . stoic . distrustful . distant . detached . cunning .
↳ hobbies include: pushing peoples’ buttons, pickpocketing, conning, making the odds stack up in his favor, and making everyone else’s lives ten times harder
↳ currently stressed about the imminent war between flintlock lodge and bluestem prairie

◜ APPEARANCE ┊ LET ME LOOK AT THE SUN ◞
‣ five foot seven & one hundred and sixty five pounds ; reference .
↳ brown hair, short and messy
↳ has overall muscle tone - a little on the slimmer side
↳ pale blue eyes , an unimpressed look , judging

◜ FAMILY ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE ◞
‣  john darrow x mary darrow | whereabouts unknown
↳ abandoned roman a few years ago after roman explained disinterest in the family’s way of life
‣ two brothers named cassius (“cas”) and august (“gus”)
↳ cassius and roman were extremely close growing up. inseparable.
‣ two sisters named livia (“livvy”) and julia (“ju")
↳ livvy and roman had a love-hate relationship . roman adored julia
‣ owns three dogs with frank: coca cola (cola), pookie number 2 (pooks), and angus
↳ more-so considered children than pets

◜ RELATIONSHIPS ┊ I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE ◞
‣  homosexual ; monogamous | grew up disinterested in pursuing relationships
‣ ex-lover to killian crowley
↳ short-lived . ended after killian explained he’d already met (and lost) his soulmate
‣ husband to franklin darrow
↳ considers him his other half .

◜ INTERACTIONS ┊ SEE ME BARE MY TEETH FOR YOU ◞
‣  [ 10/10 ] physically  |  [ 6/10 ] psychologically .
↳ difficulty w/ guns [ very easy ] | difficulty w/ melees [ moderate ] | difficulty w/ hand-to-hand [ moderate ]
‣ [member=1512]elysian.[/member] | dm for any major plots .
‣  friendly or nonviolent actions may be powerplayed .[/size][/spoiler]