002. character relations

[artedelrumore]

THE PACK

They're the rhythm in his soul.

Paolo Inojosa He ain't no son of a preacher man A Godhand of the Brotherhood of Violence, his first real friend in the Vigil, and the man that Gideon's only too proud to serve as a second to in their blade. These two grew up together, and always, always balanced each other in a way that not a lot of pairs could ever manage in the Fifth World. They've had a good run, and Gideon's honestly looking forward to kicking back and growing old with this dumbass.

Neeka Zobel de Ayala She's always changing The Pack's brunette bombshell in heels and designer clothes, and the energetic whirlwind whose looks opened doors, wit killed the crowds, and cheer kept their blade together. Back in the day, Gideon wouldn't have ever thought that he'd be friends with someone like Neeka, much less come to love her like he loves his own. This is probably the reason why, even in his age, he continues to put up with her craziness: it's as endearing as it is contagious.

THE MALICE KINGS

Their music is his radar.

Liandrin Delacroix She's got an avalanche packed into a snowball The Kaiser of Netsach, and the Malice King that undoubtedly continues to scare the shit out of Gideon. She has always had his utmost respect, even before she stepped up to lead their conspiracy into the New Age. As such, people really shouldn't be too surprised when they learn that Lia is Gideon's standard for what a real leader ought to be.

Aidan Clayce He raised his flags, and donned his clothes Gideon's father figure in the Vigil just as Lucrezia is his mother in the Vigil, as dear to him as his own mortal father was. Gideon never hesitates to follow the Voidseeker wherever he chooses to go because he firmly believed (and continues to believe) that the man can do no evil. And, on a more personal note, he's quite happy to see that Aidan is settling down. Sure, there was that little incident with Amadeus, but everyone has something that sets them off. His view of Aidan has not changed, not in the slightest.

Riley Falner He'll make you a believer Gideon, like all of the Methuselah's "old guard", grew up in the Vigil on stories of the Daywalker, and fought the good fight surrounded by his influences or supported by his resources. He only really had the pleasure of getting acquainted with the First of Vampires in 2012, but that was more than enough for him to decide that Riley was as trustworthy and as reliable as Aidan was. It should be noted that this might be the reason why Gideon does not see Riley's "premature" awakening from Deep Slumber as a bad thing. The Vigil needs him, and it's just unfortunate that he's a prisoner of his unique condition.

Hikaru Shinta Crazy's what they think about him Gideon's best friend in the Fifth World, and the man responsible for saving his life when he was very young. He knows, full well, that Hikaru is the Wolf of Zangyaku, the Blade King, and the Vessel of Brother Death. None of that matters: he has always seen past those chaotic strings in his friend's song, and seen him for who he truly is. He doesn't even really feel bad about the fact that he'll ultimately leave Hikaru behind: they've had a good run, and he's still good more than a few years in him yet.

Rethe Kyriff-Clayce He's the moment that brings you together Rethe was always someone Gideon admired both because he was a Malice King and because he was a DJ like himself - that was a big thing back in the day, when Gideon was still trying his hand out at mixing and balancing his potential career as a musician with his duties as a Keeper of the Vigil. They've grown close over the years, and Rethe is about the only person Gideon would ever defer to when it comes to music. It also pleases him, how Rethe has finally found happiness in Aidan.

Alistair Mordechai He remains selfless, cold, and composed Gideon was familiar on the get-go with Alistair because of his association to Hikaru: the Seer had been the silent figure in the background, watching over the pair and whatever crazy shit they got into together whenever they met up. His respect for Alistair only deepened after Gidoen joined the Vigil and saw the full breadth and depth of the work that the Seer did for everyone on principle. He's saddened, of course, by the fact that things between his best friend and Alistair won't be going anywhere any time soon (he had always approved of them as a couple), but he's wise enough to know that if it ain't gonna work for now, it ain't gonna work.

Setsuna Shinta She won't fade Anino operatives from Ateneo used to joke around about how, if Aidan was their "Father Dragon", Setsuna was definitely their "Mother Fox". They weren't too far from the truth. Gideon experienced Setsuna's compassion and faith first hand only too many times in the past, and there is also that not-so-small fact that she happens to be the older sister of Gideon's best friend. Suffice to say, Gideon was crushed, as many others were, by her Ascension as a Great Spirit. It is nice to have her around again, regardless of what others might believe.

Jessiah Vice Most fall in line for this one The other man who stands on equal footing in Hikaru's heart as Gideon does, and someone Gideon ended up getting close to by merit of the fact that the two of them had a common interest in being as available for the Blade King as they possibly could all the way until their dying breath. Gideon knows that there are things that Hikaru can only share with Jessie, just as he is certain that there are things that Hikaru can only share with him. This isn't a competition: it never was. In fact, the pair often find themselves automatically maneuvering around their brother-in-arms, picking up where the other leaves off, trading places when needed, and lending their own kinds of support to their own little conspiracy.

Calintz Duskrider A real good man The mentor and father figure of the love of Gideon's life, and the kind of straight up guy that's a rarity in a world where everybody's convinced that they have to be everything that they're not. Gideon has always liked Calintz, but only really grew close to the man after his own father passed. The Riskbreaker, like the rest of the Heartnet-Duskriders, helped him grieve. The Minstrel does not hesitate, now, to call Calintz family.

Rilea Heartnet She is thirty-two flavors and then some Calintz's beloved wife, and the quintessential mother figure in Gideon's eyes who always manages to be around with excellent food and excellent booze when you know you need it (and even when you don't realize, until later, that you did). He learned how to be a great house husband because of this one, and he's not ashamed to admit it at all.

Maes Mordechai All he wants is (to save) your soul Gideon has always been more familiar with Maes' reputation than he is with the man, and said reputation was a fearsome one. This has admittedly not changed much since 2012, as Gideon and Maes have always occupied incredibly different positions in the Vigil. Granted, while Maes' song exposes, in full, the depth of his particular grade of insanity, it has also shown Gideon that Maes is as good a man as Paolo says he is. As such, Gideon's quite happy to see the Butcher rejoin the Malice Kings. It looks like they need all the help they can get.

Lorenzo Reyes This tuff ghost is set in his ways Back when Gideon was a part of Anino and assigned to the Ateneo campus, he, like anyone in his position, were always under constant orders to keep an eye out for Lorenzo and make sure to pick him up, dust him off, see that he's fed even a little bit, then guide him back to a less public place if they ever found him sleeping somewhere. Gideon has done this for Lorenzo plenty of times, and old habits die hard. On another note, it does occasionally strike the Minstrel how he's not nearly as scared of Lorenzo, a fearsome Acamoth, as he is of Lorenzo's mistress...

THE ROCKIN' ROLLAS

They light 'em up.

Drake Badd This low rider is a real goer When they were both much younger, Gideon could not understand Drake Badd at all, much less Aidan's reasons for taking the man in. The rudeness he could ride with, but the self-destructive tendencies and the recklessness were things that could put people in danger - that was not what Keepers of the Vigil needed, given the nature of their jobs. Nevertheless, he was aware of the fact that Drake was Gwen's forever boy, and Gwen had been an older sister to Gideon and the Pack in the way that Gideon was an older brother to Wolf's Choice. He and Drake may not be mates, but they are most definitely comrades. It's also hard to ignore the fact that Drake has turned much of his life around - and now faces the tragedy, like Gideon, of being among the first to leave their friends behind after suffering through so much grief in the Darkest Vigil.

Selene Vega The little scarlet starlet Gideon's fellow DJ at Haven, colleague at Vice Records, and a fighter whom he has stood beside through thick and thin since 2012. He is the closest to her out of everyone in the Rockin' Rollas, and it isn't just because she appears to be the voice of reason in a blade full of (often overpowered) crazies: it's really because they're friends, and the Darkest Vigil only strengthened the ties between them.

108 (Samuel Crowley) This devil doesn't need your sympathy Gideon's initial impression of 108 (mad scientist, not-so-closet dork, generally a big child) has not changed much since 2012, but his initial irritation has been replaced with genuine fondness. He's seen how the Demoborn stayed loyal to his friends all throughout, eventually fell in love, and changed for the better because of Sawyer. And honestly, he is concerned about how things are going to go once Sawyer dies. It hits uncomfortably close to home, only in Gideon's case, he'll be leaving Deirdra and his children behind.

Henry Lim He's more than just a hound dog Gideon certainly had his professional contentions with Henry, and for similar reasons on why he could not bring himself to trust Drake or view him as a comrade for a long time. Granted, a lot of it was grounded on something more personal: as somebody who had been nothing but grateful for Aidan's intervention in his life, Henry was initially rebellious and difficult, prone to causing trouble for everyone in the way that a spoiled child might burden his family. Gideon's opinion of the Werewolf changed for the better, though, after Henry started manning up and taking responsibility, and became very positive after Henry took over the Abubot. No, they're not quite friends, but Gideon, like any Hunter with a good head on his shoulders, is thankful for Henry's contribution to the War for the Balance.

An'yu Oyama He learned to crawl Gideon used to view An'yu one of the biggest idiots he had ever met, and he was not entirely unjustified in his opinion: the young Alchemist had, back in the day, been responsible for removing one of the Methuselah's main life lines all because he had been hungry for power and recognition. Much has changed since then, and Gideon is pleased to see that An'yu has come a long way from being "that kid with a sword".

Mica Torillo-Young She's steady as she goes Gideon is not ashamed to admit the fact that he used to think that Mica was way out of David Young's lead, and under no circumstances should he ever get involved with the idiot: he might end up contaminating her with his dumbassery. Then he saw David grow up, and saw, as well, how Mica retained the softness and compassion that lay at the core of all of her harshness and near ruthless pragmatism with people. He saw, as well, how the two of them stayed together throughout the Darkest Vigil, and helped in ways that he felt he could only dream of. Suffice to say, he's proud of them both.

WOLF'S CHOICE

They set 'em all on fire.

David Young He starts revolutions when he wakes up in the morning Gideon was notably unimpressed with David on the get-go, and this opinion did not shift all that much for most of 2012: it took David stepping up, the Unnamed Tower, and several traumatic incidents on both of their parts for Gideon to start seeing past the idiot facade and realize David's potential. These days, he calls David an "idiot" not because he is one, but because of the number of times he went off and got himself killed. People are welcome to misinterpret that fond grousing as they will: at the end of it, it'll just help David's case and help the Fool blindside the folks he needs to, should the situation ever call for it.

Elias Tagabigay He's Mr. Brightside Elias, like David, Tala, Bonnie, and Cen, was one of the first kids whom Gideon was assigned to take care of, but unlike the others, he and Gidoen instantly hit it off. At present, common tragedies and the stress of the First Reforms and the Darkest Vigil have made Elias somewhat of a surrogate little brother figure to Gideon, and the Minstrel is always on the look out for ways of helping Elias out. He knows, for a fact, that the Mage did not make it out of the wars unscathed: he can see the damage all over Elias' song. Now it's just a matter of finding the perfect time to sit him down for some beers and get him to talk it out.

Deirdra Max-Reyes She's his warmer climate Gideon's amazingly strong, amazingly wonderful wife and mother of his children who is, in many ways, as different from him as night is from day - and that just makes their relationship even better. The two of them have never had an issue with the fact that Deirdra is a Riskbreaker, and that makes their time together seem even more temporal than it would be had the both of them been "human". Still, Gideon does have his moments where he worries over he's done enough to make his wife happy, and been enough of a good influence in her life to prepare her for the inevitable end of Them.

Juan Antonio Reyes dela Cruz The not-so-lone gunner archer Deirdra has always viewed Anton as her surrogate little brother, and Gideon made it a habit to welcome Anton into his life as family the moment the two of them got engaged. It helped, of course, that he had a healthy respect for the boy's abilities, and also approved of the fact that - in spite of the odd circumstances of his birth and the life he had been forced to live until he entered the Vigil - Anton always defined his every action with the love he felt for those whom he viewed as family. It's something Gideon can relate well to.

Aria Skye Check your weapons at the door with this one The older sister figure to his wife, and someone whom Gideon actually found himself butting heads with more than a few times in the past due to their differing views on how best to take care of Deirdra. They've settled into a comfortable rhythm now, of course, and Gideon does view Aria as family in the same way that he views Anton as family. Granted, loyal as he is to his best friend, he can't help but feel a little sad at how Hikaru and Aria did not work out. It's hard to ignore an old comrade in pain, after all, regardless of her previous actions.

Barbara Gomez She's part of the beautiful people Gideon never grew close to Barbara in the way that Neeka had, but he did not ever have a problem with her either. He knew, as anyone who was familiar with her knew, that she had been a victim of her circumstances, and she amply proved herself by growing perfectly into her role as the Golden Hand of the Daywalker. She's a fellow Keeper of the Vigil, and a member of a blade whom Gideon is deeply emotionally invested in: that's enough for him to come running if she ever needs something.

Cisco Montelibano-Profaci There are always bells for her Naturally, Gideon had been concerned about Cisco's capability to keep up when she first joined Wolf's Choice: she was the last to join their ranks, and had no background in the Vigil or in the matters of the World of Darkness whatsoever. Suffice to say, she ended up impressing him with her resolve to change herself and make herself strong enough to protect all of the people she loved. He never thought ill of her for running: he was just happy to see that she came back to them at the end of it.

Vincenzo Profaci Meet ze monsta Here's yet another guy whom Gideon initially had a very poor opinion of, and ended up pretty much undoing it entirely by growing right up and exceeding all expectations. Cen had been an arrogant shithead (excuse the French) when they had first met, ended up disappearing, and then came back around as one of Ius' finest operatives. He later became the Alpha of the Lodge of the Vigil in the Philippines, and took charge of Maenad. Maybe it doesn't need to be said, but: Gideon approves.

Tala Vega She can't use what she can't abuse Hikaru can say what he wants about Tala being a sweet girl, and Alistair can say what he wants about Tala being a good person, and Elias can say what he wants about how he wouldn't love someone who wasn't nice. Gideon still believes that Tala's absolutely crazy. It's a good kind of crazy, yes, but it's still crazy. Still, he harbors a healthy respect for the power she has at his disposal, and is happy to be counted among her friends. She doesn't have many on principle, so that is kind of a big thing.

NETSACH

The battle-scared Conquistadors.

Sawyer Mesch-Crowley She's the daughter of hungry ghosts Gideon has always treated Sawyer with affection by merit of the fact that she is Neeka's best friend, and he will be eternally grateful to her for being first the Eyes of the Sky of the Methuselah operatives in Anino, and later becoming the central, living hub of Netsach's Arcanum. Because of this, he finds it a little difficult to look at her for too long: he can see, through her Song, how fast she is fading away from them all.

ZANGYAKU

They are the Howling.

Kasumi Aoi She always did prefer the blizzard to the rain Gideon has always been a little intimidated by Kasumi even though she's been nothing but warm to him, and openly grateful for what he has done for her son. He greatly respects her, and has seen, on many occasions, exactly what she is capable of doing when she is scorned or when she feels like her "children" are in danger. It's a good thing that he'll probably never be on her bad side...

Tohru Fukuzawa He is buried in armor It should not be too surprising that Gideon was almost immediately flagged by Tohru the moment he and Hikaru started growing close. That used to scare him, of course, but he soon realized that it was not because Tohru was as sinister and as scary as everyone said it was: it was due to the fact that he was fiercely protective of the Wolf, and always out to make sure that he kept good company. He continues to maintain a respectful distance from the Assassin, of course. This is the man who could kill you from miles away with a mere thought, after all.

Makoto Kuzunoha His pride is in the ground Makoto was one of the first Zangyaku oni-tsukai whom Gideon got acquainted with by merit of the Sin-Eater's closeness to Hikaru, and it helped that he never tried to ingratiate himself to the Tactician of Zangyaku: that would have turned Makoto off. He does not know Makoto as well as Drake might, but he has always respected the man's reputation. It does alarm him, though, to see Makoto back from the dead.

Kalika Shinta Perky muscle girl Kalika is probably the Zangyaku oni-tsukai whom Gideon is closest to, second only to Hikaru himself. He harbors a lot of affection for her, regardless of how insane she can get and how scary she can be when she's spurned. He also views her in a fashion similar to how he sees Anton: a little sister that he's always out to watch over and take care of, even if he knows that she does not need it.

THE WAR HOUNDS

They're not quite Dogs of War, but they're getting there.

Joshua LaRue [Brennan] Don't you worry about this child Gideon was always under the impression that Josh was a solid guy, and that impression became fact for him when he saw the boy's progress for himself. By his take, Josh is the one who keeps the Hounds together, and the one who builds the bridges between the lot of them so that they will always have some common ground to stand on - a person like that is essential in a blade, because no matter how awesome a bunch of Hunters might be at fighting, they are nothing without a good leader. On another note, he's waiting for a good opportunity to sit down and talk to this one. He does, after all, have to look out for his best friend.

Yulia Bostova She's always out to search and destroy Yulia's attitude was never a turn off for Gideon: he harbors a special affection both for crazy knife-wielding girls and for Bladians, and she kind of marries the two in herself. He leaves her to her own devices on principle, because he is certain that she will find her way - and it certainly looks like she has, last he checked.

Estanislao Marisigan III And he'll just keep on rolling, rolling, rolling To be completely blunt, if Gideon had met Taning back in 2012, he would have thought that the Mage was just another broken lowlife that Aidan couldn't help but save, ill-suited for the Vigil, much less for saving people or being a good influence on anyone. He's learned, though, from the many times that he found himself rethinking his own principles by watching Drake Badd, Henry Lim, 108, and many others. He doesn't talk much to this one, yes, but that is probably because he doesn't have to. Taning will be fine: he's got good people with him.

Karlo Antonio Zobel de Ayala This one doesn't need ground control Something Gideon might not tell Kaz just yet is the fact that he has always had a low opinion of Alexa, his mother - the only thing that kept him from speaking his mind was the affection he held for Neeka, and the fact that he did not want to involve himself too much in matters that should remain between her and her own family. While he has not seen any reason to revise his opinion of Alexa, he's quite happy to continue to be that bully of an old uncle who teases Kaz mercilessly about his "lack of" progress, and to be available if the kid ever needs a listening ear.

Brigade [Roland Stevenson] He's got the soldiering life down pat Where many saw Brigade as an unwelcome and ignorant idealist who had a thing for throwing his principles in other people's faces because he thought he knew better, Gideon saw a Promethean who was barely aware of himself, much less what it meant to be human. He saw, in essence, somebody in need, someone who wanted to understand, but ultimately could not on the get-go due to how overwhelmingly different his new life in the Vigil was to anything he had known in the past. Some of his closest friends continue to be wary of Brigade, but Gideon's take his simple: since Deirdra, Hikaru, and Elias all seem to like him, he must be a good guy.

Brianna Lopez They write songs about girls like her Gideon, on principle, tends to avoid crazy Changeling girls because of the kind of damage they can do to his sanity, and Brianna was an exception for a good, long time. Nevertheless, he made it a point to be nice to her ("nice" in the Gideon sense, anyway, which did include some good-natured bullying) and paid careful attention to her progress because he was very aware of her past. He believes there is good in her, and that she's definitely going to go places - what remains to be seen, though, is whether those places will take her far away from the people who care about her the most.