#code verses

[crapeaucrapeau]

Headcanon Wednesday : Salarian Gangs, Pomps, and Code Verses

A prahyit (plural : to'prahyit), a Nazaht word meaning "brotherhood", is an association of unrelated males without a female who have come together to pursue a common goal ; nowadays, it is used to mean an exclusively salarian criminal organization, but there have been to'prahyit of many kinds throughout salarian history. Eclipse, which in organization resembles asari criminal syndicates and has many asari and salarian members, is not a prahyit ; nor is any criminal organization with salarians in it. Nowadays, to'prahyit are usually found exclusively in the Salarian Union and in places where there is a significant salarian majority (e.g. the Citadel, or Omega).

Organized crime in salarian societies typically began as an association of salarian males from different clans cooperating for their own best interests without compromising the overall safety of their respective clans. As they were quick to use family language to instill loyalty - to this day, one is recruited by an "Elder Brother" - any trans-clan association of males - including the first capitalist businesses - initially faced accusations of criminality.

The structure of salarian crime syndicates imitates the feudal hierarchy of salarian society : numerous to'prahyit, with varying degrees of influence and power and each with several branches, united in a very loose confederation that broadly leaves them autonomous. There is no direct competition, but territory is strictly delineated, but nor is there any cooperation except in the direst circumstances or if an agreement is struck. It's entirely possible for a clan to make exceptional use of another clan's territory to store or deliver drugs, in exchange of a "rent" proportional to the merchandise's worth.

As with human criminals, the bulk of recruits are young salarian men who, for whatever reason, are adrift in society, with no one to look after them. The Elder Brother is responsible for their behavior, and in return the "little brothers" give him all their love and loyalty.

Each Elder Brother is in charge of a "pond" (a patch of territory where they operate). Under their command are :

a head pepmonger, getting the supply of drugs to each point of sale ;

two factotums, dealing with the money (getting the money from the pepmongers ; accounting ; transporting the money to the clan's financial staff) ;

pepmongers dealing drugs at points of sale open all the time, in two teams of ten to fifteen little brothers working in half-a-day shifts. Less popular drugs are only sold from the evening to noon.

two to three "eggsitters" store drugs in bulk in apartments or shops ;

and the killers, ready to fight should a conflict with another clan arise. Only the Elder Brothers knows who they are and how to join them.

Wages strictly reflect what a prahyit values : economic growth. A pepmonger makes nearly twice as much money as a killer, because a pepmonger makes money every day for the prahyit while a killer sits around.

Each prahyit is led by a "pomp" with deputies in charge of acquisition, logistics and money laundering. The "ponds" are broadly equivalent to subsidiary firms. An Elder Brother is expected to show the same love and loyalty to the pomp as he receives from little brothers.

In to'prahyit, the pomp, sometimes called the "matron", assumes a feminine persona, thereby impersonating a dalatrass, sometimes excessively ; his is a parody (or perhaps even a pastiche) of salarian femininity. In the oldest criminal to'prahyit on Sur'Kesh and Mannovai, the roles of their respective pomps have solidified to the point that they have names and unique mannerisms, apparels and make-ups, which are taken up by every pomp.

Characteristics of pomps include :

various accessories to make the pomp appear taller : those include high-platform shoes and prosthetics over the horns, like crowns or diadems ;

ostentatious displays of wealth : a lot of jewels, very fine fabrics, etc ;

feminine apparel : hooded robes, sometimes solid masks or mask-like make-up ;

pantomimed signs of age : hunched-over posture, a cane, fake wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, etc.

Pomps do not change the pitch of their voice, though they do change the cadence and tend to speak even more curtly.

A unique characteristic of any salarian organization involved in something criminal, disreputable, or otherwise stealthy, is the use of code verses. Those are, in short, passwords or code phrases for a broad variety of situations ; but because salarians have an eidetic memory, they use myriads of code verses which they heard once and know by heart.

To give an example, if a salarian guarding a warehouse is approached by another salarian from the same prahyit, he is expected to select from hundreds of prompts at random and ask a question ; the approaching salarian can give an answer equivalent to "All clear", but he can also answer with something that translates as "I've been compromised, there are cops in the van behind me and they're aiming guns at you." The point is that no one who did not undergo "rote learning", i.e. someone who isn't a member, can tell which answers are innocuous, and which aren't.

The organization which makes the greatest use of code verses is, naturally enough, the Special Tasks Group. It is rumored that they have tomes of code verses, and that as you rise up in the hierarchy they bring out even more tomes. The sheer quantity of them means it would take weeks for a single compromised agent to divulge them, at which point the new editions will be out anyway.

[valtsv]

filial cannibalism // matriphagy

[succo-al-limone]

Chat about the young’un from 1610

[limbosava]

The Death of Mallory Glass, age 20

[localechoes]

and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful wife

[cupcakeinat0r]

Lawd, I would let this man **** ** ***** *** **** *** ****** ** ** ***** ***** *** * **** **** ** **** ** ***** ******* **** *** ********* ***** *** * ** * ***** ** **** ** ******* ** *** ******* * ** ******** ***** **** ** * **** ******** **** ** ** *** ***.

(Artist credit - @ mar_mar0u on insta)

[batstronaut]

🗣️🎶held you in my arms prepared to die for you, oh how time has flown🎶

[asterthought]

And you bet I'll bite too,

Do what's truly taboo,

As I'm pulled in a new direction!

— Pulled, The Addams Family Musical.

[lsunstreakerl]

messy doodle as a love letter (art?) to your tiny gax verse!!! i ❤️ them they're so small feral kittens/anything that's tiny and vicious and desperate for love coded 😭😭😭

i am walking away with a gax-shaped lump in my pocket. you cannot do anything about it. i am feeding them as we speak and i will tuck them into bed after.

screaming crying throwing up sliding down onto the floor in despair—

THEY'RE SO LITTLE IM GOING TO BE ILL DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOUVE DONE TO ME 😭

the bandaids on his knees from where he scrapes them working on the karts, and the shaggy hair because they cut it themselves, GEORGE'S HEADBAND, the way he's so defiant but so tired I am actually devastated. did you kiss this brick before you threw at at me????

THE THREE OF THEM CURLED UP TOGETHER. george and alex being intertwined and pressed together and max being so vulnerable all curled up under his arm, the way galex is a unit but max is clearly still a part of the dynamic 😭😭

this has genuinely killed me, maers. dead on the floor.

[wildstar25]

Don't go wasting your emotion Lay all your love on me-

Bonus:

[venusiancarbondioxide]

macbeth, act v, scene ii // the silt verses, season 3, episode 13

[yesimwriting]

”Like what do you mean some random girl is staying over at bestie's apartment and sleeping in her bed? Are they not enough for her anymore?”

Omg Louis you’re probably more than enough, but think a little buddy. Do you think you can fulfill romantic/sexual needs and physical intimacy any non-asexual woman desires????

No? DID NOT THINK SO. This dude omg.

armand thinks he can

It's okay, they're just a tiny bit co-dependent <3

In Louis's defense, I think he does struggle with attachment and co-dependency in general, with a lot of his identity and understanding of self coming from his proximity to those that he loves. I do think he was more prone to co-dependency in the original 1900's era and that the show has allowed him to develop a little.

So even though he loves bestie in a really familial way, it's still not easy for him to accept bestie having close relationships with other people. I don't think he's the type to tell bestie that he doesn't want her to date or have other friends, it's just hard for him sometimes, especially if that other person is a human.

He's definitely more normal about bestie being around other people than Armand (for obvious reasons). However, Armand can't express his discomfort/jealousy outside of as a way of expressing concern for Louis, so he definitely says certain things to Louis to aggravate his jealousy.

I think one of Armand's go-to's for upsetting Louis so that bestie spends more time with them would be to remind Louis about how easy bestie's life would be if her best friend or partner was a human. Armand would also remind Louis that any serious partner wouldn't be comfortable with Louis and bestie being around each other as much as they are (not everyone can be as understanding as Armand).

So, with Armand pushing Louis in that direction, Louis gets more openly upset, which usually leads to bestie spending more time around them. Really, it's just a way for Armand to get his way without ever seeming like he cares too much or portraying himself as the 'bad guy'.

That being said, Armand definitely thinks he can be everything bestie needs 😭. I can also see him doing this as a way of convincing Louis to let him 'pursue' bestie, because it's not like some outsider can 'take' bestie from him if they share a boyfriend <3 (he's so convoluted and manipulative <33)

[mintyfreshartist]

SURPRISE!! Miles doodles 🧡🧡☀️

[lovefms]

🎧   :   you’re  live  with... @loveszip!

for  a  summer  night,  the  breeze  brushing  through  poblacion  was  oddly  cold.  not  unpleasant,  just  unexpected.  it  curled  around  beau’s  body  as  he  stepped  out  of  the  pub,  a  sharp  contrast  to  the  stifling  heat  inside,  where  the  music  thudded  heavy  against  the  walls  and  bodies  pressed  together  in  the  dark.  they  still  had  time.  ian’s  band  wouldn’t  be  up  for  another  few  sets,  and  beau  had  needed  air.  he  hadn’t  thought  much  of  it—just  that  it  was  too  warm,  too  loud,  too  crowded.  that  his  skin  felt  sticky,  his  shirt  clung  too  tight  to  his  back,  and  the  heat  wasn’t  just  from  the  crowd  but  from  the  closeness  of  him  and  tj  sitting  side  by  side  for  too  long.  so  he’d  reached  out,  tugged  lightly  at  tj’s  wrist  as  an  invitation,  grinned,  murmured  something  about  a  quick  yosi  break  before  they'd  slipped  past  the  bouncer  and  out  into  the  street. he  didn’t  take  them  to  the  designated  smoking  area,  of  course.  that  little  rectangle  out  front  was  already  packed,  groups  of  strangers  huddled  in  loose  circles  with  their  sticks  between  their  fingers.  but  beau  didn’t  want  company.  he  led  tj  around  the  side  of  the  building,  past  a  rusted  gate  and  into  an  eskinita.  narrow,  tucked  away,  and  quiet.  no  one  was  there.  just  a  crooked  line  of  parked  cars,  a  busted  light  flickering  overhead,  and  them.  beau  could’ve  said  it  was  for  the  silence.  for  the  peace.  and  maybe  that  would’ve  been  half-true.  really,  he  just  wanted  time  with  tj.  beau  leaned  in,  pressed  his  lips  to  his.  they  make  out—slow,  hot,  a  little  messy.  a  kiss  that  tasted  like  beer  and  too  many  nights  like  this.  when  he  finally  forced  himself  to  pull  away,  breathless  and  smiling,  beau  laughed  softly,  eyes  scrunching  with  mischief,  cheeks  flushed  from  both  the  alcohol  and  the  way  his  pulse  had  kicked  up  against  his  ribs.  “okay,  sorry—'di  ko  mapigilan  sarili  ko,”  he  said  as  he  shifted  his  weight  back  against  the  wall,  pulling  out  a  box  of  cigarettes  from  his  pocket.  “ikaw  kasi!  ilayo  mo  nga  kamay  mo  sa  hita  ko.  baka  may  makakita  pa  tapos  mapaghalataan  pa  tayo,  eh.”

[inamindfarfaraway]

I love how Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse said “Anyone can be Spider-Man”. I love how it inspired everyone to imagine their own Spider-People, saving the day in their own universes, with all kinds of cool, interesting personalities and aesthetics and mutations and life stories and relationships. We all put pieces of our soul into these homemade heroes. We had fun. We found community. And then Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse said, “Wow, great job! You’ve really taken our message to heart. Well, get ready for even more of everything you liked from the first movie and a new message to complement the first. Anyone can be Spider-Man… and anyone can be pulled into a cult.”

So now we all have to contemplate whether our lovingly crafted heroes would ever be on Team Mandatory Trauma Because Martyr Complex or not and why.

[yawping-poets-society]

with you i could summon the gods and the stars

watch them dance out the plays that we wrote from the heart

and we'd laugh at the ghosts of our fears

we were gods

we were kids