The Past is Always Around the Corner--Ricki & Inez

@detectiverickitubbs

Continued from HERE

Coming to the police station has been a rash choice, a desperate hope that Ricki might somehow miraculously be walking in while she is at the counter. Then, she can confide all of this to her dear sister, rather than to an unfeeling desk officer who can only focus on the fact that a report has already been made. Inez’s unuttered prayer, one she is not even fully aware of, is answered in an instant when she hears Ricki call her name out across the busy lobby. Turning around as best as she can, Inez hobbles to her friend, and finds herself almost collapsing against the shorter woman. Steadying herself against the Vice officer, she sucks in a shaky breath and then another. “I know.” She tries for a weak laugh at Ricki’s blunt observation, but it comes out as a whimper. “It… it was a few of Pablo’s old friends. They saw me at the bar that I work at… and they waited for us to lock up for the night. They tried to grab me, but Thomas came out with me. It… it was just a fight, but it could have been so much worse. Thomas called the police out there, and they’ve taken the information. They even had the ambulance out, and we were patched up.” Her voice falters, and she fixes worried, dark eyes on Inez. “Mateo’s fine… he’s still with Vin. But… Rickita…” Her voice catches again, “I can’t go home looking like this. As… as soon as Vin sees, you know what he’ll do. It won’t matter if I tell him that the police are already on it, or that there’s nothing for him to do. He’ll grab his gun, and he’ll go off hunting. By the time he’s done, there won’t be anything for the police to find.” She is not worried about the police arresting Vin for vigilante work. So many crimes in Miami are never solved, and merely chalked up to the endless gang wars shaking the area to pieces. Besides, Vin is terrifyingly good at what he does. If he finds the men, he will shoot them, and drag the corpses out to the Everglades. The snakes and the alligators will do the rest of the work for him, and the men will just be written off as more victims of the cartels. Instead, Inez is worried about Vin being injured on her behalf. Pablo nearly killed him years ago, and it was a minor miracle that Nathan could reattach the thumb that psycho had chopped off. She has no wish to see the bounty hunter come to more harm because of her unwanted connections to Pablo’s drug empire. Swallowing again, she looks up at her friend. “Can you go home with me? I can’t drive anyways—they sprained my wrist—and you can help me keep Vin in the house.” The problem with Vin is that he will not just storm out of the house dramatically to go get revenge. That is how Chris or Buck might do it, but not Vin. He will just go quiet. Once he thinks she is asleep, he will sneak out of bed and retrieve his weapons. The next thing she will hear will be his truck starting up, and pulling away from the apartment building. More likely than not, he will return two or three days later, and tell her she has nothing to worry about any longer. Having Ricki in the house at least for the first night will make it harder for him to sneak out. By then, she might be able to convince Josiah or Nathan to talk to him, and calm him back down.

//Since I have a few more followers around, here are all the RP blogs you can find me at @thereismoretomylifethenice Disney’s Frozen muses--Queen Elsa (most active), Kristoff and Hans. (low activity in general) 

@avictimofthejazz 1970s/1980s Multi-muse. A-Team, SWAT 1975, Knight Rider, Adam-12, Remington Steele, and Booker muses. Characters as follows: Templeton ‘Face Man’ Peck, BA Baracus, Dr. Maggie Sullivan, Dr. Kelly Stevens, Officer Jim Street, Michael Knight, Officer Jim Reed, Murphy Michaels, and Elaine Grazzo.  (High activity) 

@fourcornersarizona --1998 Magnificent 7 muses--Vin Tanner, Mary Travis & Inez Recillos (Low activity but still active) 

@anoseforrottenapples -- British-eque Multi muses. Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, Turn: Washington’s Spies. Characters as follows, Gavin Troy, Miss Marple, and Mary Woodhull. (High activity) 

All blogs are crossover and multi-verse friendly. Historical muses have modern/mostly modern AUs, more modern muses have historical AUs. Housekeeping is embarrassingly far behind--just message me if you have questions XD

//I've wanted to do this for a wee bit so here's all the RP blogs you can find me at with associated characters.

ThereIsMoretoMyLifeThenIce (Disney's Frozen/Low Activity/Working on Reviving It) Queen Elsa, Kristoff Bjorgman, & Hans Westergaard

AVictimoftheJazz (1970/80s mixed muses/High Activity (for me) Templeton 'Faceman' Peck, BA Baracus, Dr. Kelly Stevens, Dr. Maggie Sullivan (A-Team), Michael Knight (Knight Rider), Murphy Michaels (Remington Steele), Elaine Grazzo (Booker), Officer James Street (SWAT 1975)

FourCornersArizona (Magnificent 7 TV show (1998-2000). Consolidation of several individual blogs. Low Activity but picking up) Vin Tanner, Mary Travis, Billy Travis, Judge Orrin Travis, Inez Recillos

ANoseforRottenApples (British mixed muses/High Activity (for me) Miss Jane Marple (Miss Marple books/show), Detective Sargent/Inspector Gavin Troy (Midsomer Murders show only), Mary Woodhull (TURN: Washington's Spies).

@sharp-teeth-and-wide-grins​ for Cassie

Bringing another load of plates into the kitchen, Inez casts her eyes upwards toward the stairs as another burst of raucous noise comes from the main saloon. Everyone was certainly in fine form tonight… but what could she expect when Mister Buck Wilmington himself decided it was a night for celebration? What he was celebrating, she had no idea… but apparently, he got everyone in the bar in line with his idea and they were having a fine time. “Es una casa loca allá arriba,” She muttered under her breath and crossed herself as soon as her hands were empty, “Dios tenga misericordia.”   The night would end in a few hours, and quiet would overtake her saloon again. In the meantime, she and her assistant Thomas could keep everything going. At least she had someone to help her in the kitchens now. Cassie might as well have been straight from heaven, an extra set of hands to handle the dishes and help keep the hot food coming upstairs. Inez had no interest in letting the young woman work in the saloon proper though. Cassie was a young, pretty girl, and nearly all her patrons are rough men. Cowhands, gun slingers, traveling merchants, the occasional gambler or outlaw… all of them pass through town at one point or another. The Seven (as the town affectionately called the town’s defenders), kept everyone in line but Inez had no interest in borrowing trouble. Cassie, like many other girls, could be too easily led astray by men who have no interest in her well-being. If she is going to meet a young man, she will do much better meeting them anywhere else in town except the saloon.

“How’re you doing down here, Cassie? Do you have everything you need?” Inez inquired as she wiped her hands on a towel and made her way over to the stove. Most of the demand for food had faded several hours earlier, but she had been keeping plates warm for Thomas, Cassie, and herself. The food would be welcome after this long night. “This should be the last load of supper dishes.” Satisfied that the food was keeping well, Inez dipped a ladle into the bucket of drinking water and took a sip. “We’ll have all the glasses of course, once everyone leaves for the night, but I’ll help you with those. Thomas says he’ll lock up and do the final sweep after we shut down for the night.”

What Does Your Muse Smell Like? 

Commiseration over Sangria--Anya & Inez

Continued from Here

@unyieldingvalxr

“Ugh….” Inez makes an agreeing sound of disgust in her throat. “I’ve known more than a few men who are better suited for a pigsty then a house, too.  Sounds like you ran yourself into a con artist.” Without waiting for Anya to ask, she reaches under her bar until she locates her secret bottle of sangria. She normally only pulls it out for grim times such as these… and the drinks are always on the house. Pouring Anya a glass of the sweet red wine, she sets it in front of the distressed woman. Then she pours one for herself, and takes a sip before tucking the bottle away. “So, who’s this louse, and what do you plan to do about it? I know a guy who knows how to catch skunks without getting sprayed himself, if you think that’ll help. He can catch lizards and snakes too.” Not all men are creeps, after all, and Vin is always willing to extend some energy in the name of righting a wrong. Especially if a bit of amusing chaos can be created along the way.

♒ Inez from Tubbs

Bewildered, Inez stares at Ricki for a long moment. Finally, she hisses, “How many boyfriends do you have?! I’m starting to feel like you’ve dated half of Miami!”    It seems that every time they go out for drinks, or to catch a show, they run into someone that Ricki has stepped out with. Even if none of them seemed to be what one would describe as stable, long-term relationships, Ricki has clearly still gone out with all these different guys at one point or another. To Inez, that idea is just… mind boggling. She has enough trouble keeping up with Vin, and she hardly counts Paulo as anything except a miserable footnote to her life. To just… date so many guys for fun, and not seriously commit to most of them… she can barely imagine how Ricki keeps everything straight. Besides… Inez is no fool. She has seen how Ricki looks at her partner, Crockett. Only an idiot would miss the sheer longing and adoration in Ricki’s eyes every time she stares at the man. She decides to broach the subject. “What about Crockett, anyways? Last I saw, you were pretty invested in making sure you stayed in his life. How does that balance with you dating half the guys in Miami?” Inez is not even judging Ricki, and her looser approach to life. She is genuinely curious. If Ricki adores Crockett so much, why is she wasting so much time with all these other guys who likely cannot hope to measure up in her eyes?  

Open--Inez Recillos

"You've lost your mind, haven't you?" Inez hissed at her companion. "Or you got into some bad whiskey and it addled your brains." Inez was used to hearing any number of bizarre schemes and plans. People seemed to think that a bartender was the perfect confidante, so often dropped all kinds of strange, interesting tidbits in her lap. What she usually did with them was to simply ignore them... but this one was so outlandish and bizarre that she could not. Sucking a breath in, she held it for a few seconds. Then she let it out again. "Humor me then... where did you even get an idea like that? I cannot imagine you dreamed it up on your own."

“restrained” (INez keeping Tubbs alias Cooper from murdering paulo)

“Stop it!” Inez grabs for Tubb’s arm, trying to yank the other woman back. “Have you lost your mind, Miss Cooper?” Hopefully using the police officer’s alias will snap her back to reality. While she may be masquerading as a crime boss, Inez knows that Ricki is actually a Miami-Dade Vice Detective. She cannot murder Paulo, no matter how tempting the creep makes it sometimes. The slimeball is not worth ruining her whole career over. Paulo does not even bother to step back from the enraged woman, instead gesturing for his bodyguards to come closer. “Señorita Cooper, is this really how you conduct business in a civilized setting?” He chides her, mistaking the woman’s rage for something amusing rather then as a warning. “I found a better price for the wares you were offering me. It’s just good business, but nothing personal.” Inez risks glancing from Ricki to Paulo’s bodyguard Raphael. The older man knows the full story here, even more then Paulo cares to notice or admit too. Ricki is hardly enraged about a business deal collapsing. Instead, she just found out that two days ago little Mateo spent almost a half-hour playing with a bag of cocaine that Paulo left within the toddler’s reach, indifferent to the damage it could cause. Inez walking in abruptly and grabbing the bag of ‘sugar’ away from him was likely the only thing that saved Mateo from actually trying the illicit substance. Inez reported it as an incident she thought the detective should know about… now though… She had no idea Ricki’s temper would flare like this… and now she can only hope to calm the detective down before Paulo callously has her shot in the middle of the villa’s atrium for attacking him.

I Sold You to a Pet Shop

Open--Inez

“If they thought this was a joke or funny, they’re mistaken!" Inez rolled her eyes upwards, “Querido Dios en el Cielo ¡Qué estúpidos son algunos de tu pueblo!”  Crossing herself reflexively, Inez studied the shattered window with a huff of frustration. Then she kicked the offending stone back out the door. “What do you think they did that for? For fun? Or were they trying to send a message?” She asked her companion wearily.  While she was willing to accept it was teenagers being stupid, there was always the chance something uglier existed under the surface. This was not the first time her business had been attacked simply because she was friends with the Seven, allowing them to use her main room as a meeting area of sorts, and a place to regroup when they needed too.  “ Dios es bueno. At least it was only a window.” She allowed herself one more moment of annoyance before shaking her shoulders. “Can you help me clean up the mess?” 

🍼 Tubbs & Inez

Inez knows logically that the Vice department will not be able to help her much in this case… but she also knows she wishes to speak with her friend Ricki about this mess before she speaks with anyone else. The abandoned baby, found behind the bar she worked at, is cradled in Inez’s arms as carefully as she had cradled Mateo when he was an infant. The little girl has stopped crying a while ago, lulled to rest in the comfortable familiarly of Inez’s rocking gait. She is not very old… tossed in a cardboard box by a dumpster before she barely has her eyes open, her mother vanishing into the ether somewhere. It breaks Inez’s heart, that this small child could be tossed aside so casually… but she knows it happens far, far too often. So many people in this world have no respect for its smallest and most vulnerable members. Her train of thought is interrupted by Ricki approaching her—the front desk said they would call down, and tell the Vice detective that her friend is waiting. Inez volunteered nothing else… mostly because she is not sure how to explain this situation without rambling to extraordinarily long lengths. It is better if Ricki just comes and sees everything for herself. “Rickita!” Inez hurries forward to greet her friend. “I was afraid you’d be out on a case! I need your help! I got a… well… a special delivery last night after work, while I was taking the trash out.” She carefully held the baby out for Ricki to see. “I need to take her to a hospital yet, but I wanted to talk to you first. I didn’t want to explain this to just any police officer. You know as well as I do how dicey that can be here in Miami.”

Continued from HERE

@detectiverickitubbs

Inez’s question is practical, but this other woman seems more stubborn than the devil and insists that she can stand on her own. Her first attempt barely makes it a step…then she is flailing for something to hang onto while her knee hits the floor. “Umhmm….” Inez makes the sound in her throat when her would-be hero dismisses the weakness as a product of standing up too fast. The sound radiates disbelief, “That or blood loss making you woozy. I don’t want to think about how much has already soaked into my towel” She offers a hand up as the woman struggles back to her feet, and tries to cover her collapse with a quip. “Don’t blame the bottle,” Inez keeps her tone light to indicate her words are a joke, “It’s not it’s fault you can’t keep your fluids inside of you. Though I guess lacing bottles with knock-out agents would be one way to deal with unruly patrons…” Does she want to press charges? That question, though it should be mundane, makes Inez frown a bit. If she presses charges, it will set a tone for all the other punks looking at starting problems… but it also leaves a paper trail. That will make it far easier for Pablo to find her… “Let’s get you patched up first.” Inez deflects away from the topic. “Then I can worry about the police and the paperwork. That is, once I find out what damage the fight actually did. A lot of times these things look horrible, but once you get everything cleaned up, you find out most of the fixtures came through fine.” The woman’s second attempt to reach the door almost ends back on the floor. The only thing saving her this time is that she started out with a slightly less boisterous step, and Inez caught her good arm when she started catering. The admission that she needs help sounds like it is being drawn reluctantly from the depths of her soul—clearly it is not something she wants to be doing even under these circumstances.   Inez nods, more fully taking her arm. “Come on—my car’s this way. And don’t worry—I won’t tell anyone you need help. If anyone asks, you’re supporting me.” It is a silly lie that she doubts anyone will believe… but everyone has their points of pride. For this woman, it seems to be her independence. Anything that threatens that, or even brushes against it needs to be fully avoided and shoved aside. The woman’s last question as they hobble for the door finally brings a tired laugh out of Inez. “No. Most of them are just tough. But you always do need to have that one idiota who decides he has to be unique. They are usually the ones in a rush to pick fights too.” She pauses before adding, “You just came in on a bad night… my usual bouncer wasn’t in. When he is on duty, we never have any problems because most everyone around here is just a bit scared of him.” A casual meeting with Vin leaves most people wondering why anyone would be scared of the polite and seemingly mild-mannered man. It is only after they see the wiry man take down a fellow twice his size that they begin to understand how Vin earned and maintains his much deserved reputation as one of the toughest men in the neighborhood.  

Truth Serum: Do you ever regret your life styles? (For all three)

The three friends exchanged glances for a moment, a series of emotions playing over their faces in rapid succession, as if it was a private conversation meant for them only. Inez is the first one to break the silence, laughing as she pushes her thick hair away from her face. “No, I cannot say I do—however shocked my poor mother and abuela might be to hear me say that. Given were I started from, I think I am doing rather well for myself—I have my own business now and I’m no longer at the beck and call of others. Also, I no longer have to endure unwanted advances simply because it is the Don’s son making them. If I don’t like how a man is behaving then,” she slapped her palms together for emphasis, “Pow—out the door!” “And if’n he won’t listen to her, I’m always happy to help.” Vin added with a quiet smile, leaning back in his seat until it balances on its back legs. Inez flashed a smile in the bounty hunter’s direction, giving Mary a spot she could slide in. “I cannot say I do either. Maybe I would be richer if I had returned to Pennsylvania after my husband died, and rejoined my family, but I dare say I would not be happier. Out here in the west, there is an energy and a passion that has faded from the east. That is why all of the innovators are coming this way—in a few decades, we will be rivaling the east in all ways imaginable….and even surpassing them on issues like rights for women! Wyoming Territory is already allowing women to vote, and they are trying to achieve the same in the Washington Territory!” Mary paused to catch her breathe before speeding along. “If I had returned East, I would be another woman sitting at home and trying to catch a husband. Out here, I can reach for a higher calling then just looking dainty—and I can raise my son at the same time! The Clarion is well-respected, and I am a respected editor. Not a respected woman editor, but a respected editor.” She emphasized the last word. “So no, I cannot say I regret my lifestyle for a moment.” “I reckon that just leaves me.” Vin commented as Mary’s speech drew to its triumphant close, “And I can’t say I regret mine either. It’s the only one I’ve ever known anyways so… what’s there to regret?” “Well… I think getting the bounty might be something worth regretting.” Inez sympathetically pointed out. Vin shrugged lightly, his hands never leaving his belt. “That is true…” he admitted, “But I’d still live pretty much the same way whether I was wanted or not. I’d just be free to go back into Texas again when my road turned that way instead’a having to cut off at the border. But a man can live with that… ain’t the end of the world.” He paused before adding somewhat shyly. “‘Sides, all in all, it’s a pretty good life. I got my horse, I got a decent wagon to sleep in, sunrises are real pretty on this side of the world, and there’s aways something new to ride towards or work on. What else could a feller want? Can’t take money and fancy houses or stuff with you when you go, so why waste time collecting it?” Setting his chair down on the floor with a thump, he ducks his head bashfully and goes to pull his hat into place. “I oughta be going…” Inez placed a hand on his arm to stall him. “Both of you should stay—I almost have dinner ready down in the kitchen.” Mary backed her friend up, intent on keeping the shy bounty hunter from running away after his speech. “And Inez lets Billy come in the back door so he can eat his supper in the kitchen… and I suppose we should be heading down there. I’m sure he’s outside waiting.” Inez made another gesture, seeming to sweep her friends up in it as she steers them toward the green curtain that separates the saloon from the backrooms. “Come on—there’s no point in hanging around here now that we’ve had that discussion, especially since the saloon will not be open for a bit yet.” A few minutes later the footsteps and voices disappear into the backrooms, leaving the saloon temporarily empty and quiet. In a few hours it will fill up again. For now, everything is settled and comfortably still.

Therapy With a Side of Alcohol

@timeguardians

Continued from HERE

The bar is quiet tonight—it usually is on Tuesdays—and Inez has been able to pay closer attention to the red-head. She has been in here a few times but usually with other people. This is the first time she came in alone. Inez also knows the woman’s name is ‘Rose’ from her friends shouting it after her in a fit of amused glee, but that is all she really knows about the other woman. Besides the fact that Rose seems to be deeply troubled… especially now that she has no one around to distract her. Inez meant the quip causally, a piece of advice she often gives to people who clearly come into the bar to wallow in the past for a few hours. Normally she receives a grunt or an annoyed flap of someone’s hands in response…  she does not usually receive a reply. Abruptly intrigued, Inez glances around the bar to make sure her other patrons are content for the moment, and then turns her full attention on Rose. Her eyes study the beer bottle first, the third one she has brought to this young lady, before focusing on Rose’s features. They are worn, exhausted in a way Inez cannot easily identify. It is clear, however, that this young woman has seen something that disturbed her deeply in its time, and continues to haunt her. Her quiet reply just confirms that analysis. “I suppose it all depends on what you’re moving on from.” Inez states after a moment. “You move on differently from a broken heart, then you do a family tragedy, or a betrayal.” She gives her patron another scrutinizing glance, “Would I be too far off in guessing it’s a broken heart you’re nursing? And you have no one to nurse it with so you came here for some liquid comfort?” Inez is not a genius, she accepts that fact, but she is abnormally good at reading people. It is one of the skills that makes her so good at this job. People who come into bars alone often do so because they have no other friends or family to support them in their hour of need, and the bottle offers forgetfulness for a time if not actual healing. The problem is that too many people get addicted to the temporary relief, and learn to prefer that over actually confronting their losses and moving on from them. She would guess that Rose is getting close to that edge… besides, if she stays slightly sloshed then she never has to worry about moving on. She can just stay stuck in the bottle, which requires no growth on her part and just offers temporary pleasure. Though it will not be in Inez’s bar—she has little use for lushes and barflies. There are a dozen other seedier joints in town that Rose can park at if she decides to throw her life down that rabbit hole. Inez will not support or condone it… though she is willing to help if Rose would rather work through her issues, then succumb to them.

@detectiverickitubbs​

Continued from HERE

Since the explosion on the yacht, Inez kept as close an eye on her best friend as she could, but Ricki started disappearing into the hunt mere days after Crockett’s supposed death. Even Gina and Trudy confirmed that Ricki could not, or would not, let anyone reach her and pull her back from the edge. One violent death too many and now Ricki is teetering, about to fall into a full-blown mental episode that she might never recover from.

Inez is fairly sure that is why Lieutenant Castillo asked Vin and her to drive up to Fort Lauderdale and collect Ricki. She is not fit to be on her own right now, and she is certainly not fit to be alone in her apartment where, likely, she has squirreled even more information on the case she is obsessing over. Right now, it will honestly not surprise Inez if, while the detective is away from her apartment, Castillo sends someone to collect any files Ricki has hidden away.

Tonight, Ricki has been very lucky but luck, like lightening, rarely strikes twice. The next time Ricki can easily end up dead instead of merely bruised and banged up. She has to get perspective on this case and quickly.

Ricki’s murmured protests earn a quick glance from Vin. “We know.” He speaks quietly, “But the Lieutenant’s openin’ Crockett’s case back up and he’s gonna have the rest of the Vice crew and other departments lookin’ into it.” He pushes open the door with his free hand, the hot, muggy air pushed in by the storm instantly bringing a sheen of perspiration to his face.

His words do little to comfort or calm the agitated detective. When she insists, she might be the only one who can stop Sonny, Inez shakes her head. “You were his partner, Ricki, but you weren’t his only friend. You aren’t even his oldest friend.” She keeps her tone gentle, “Gina, Trudy, Stan, the others—they all want to find and help Crockett too. You need to give them a chance and trust them too.”

Vin’s old truck sits on the far side of the parking lot, the only spaces large enough for the dented Chevy, but it approaches quickly due more to their efforts then Ricki’s half-stumbling steps. “You can sit in the middle between us.” Inez instructs. “Right now, I think you need someone on either side to help keep you upright.”

“Nice try, Ricki,” Vin shakes his head when Ricki makes her suggestion about getting coffee. “First off, ain’t no coffee shops open at this time’a night. Second, doctors don’t want you takin’ any caffeine right now. You’re supposed to rest, not vibrate off the coach. Third, you’re not goin’ back to your place. You’re going back to ours.”

“Lieutenant Castillo thinks it will do you good to get out of Miami for a few days.” Inez does not bother to add that the Lieutenant is equally motived by what is good for Ricki and the knowledge that if she is in Miami, the Vice detective will not take any time off to recover from her injuries or regain her mental equilibrium. Getting her out of the city is key to helping her recovery.

“‘Sides,” Vin pulls the truck door open, “With fractured ribs and Lord knows what else, you shouldn’t be left alone in your place, and we can’t leave the kids alone ours. A few days on the lake are what you need to get your ribs patched up and your head back on straight.”  

Inez lightly pushes Ricki to climb up onto the bench seat as Vin goes around to the driver’s side, pulling the door open and extending a hand to Ricki. “You can sleep on the couch tonight and, in the morning, I’ll put the spare room together for you.” Inez puts some weight on the words, making it clear they expect Ricki to be their guest for several days and they will not tolerate her trying to sneak out and run back to Miami to continue her one-woman quest to save Crockett from…well….whatever he had gotten himself into.