Vladimir's Links
Long lost daughter. Knows she exists in theory.
Doesn't know who he is in relation to her...
Even though he's usually a bit too tipsy for rollerblades and disco dancing, he'll occasionally indulge her even more than he already has. Her suggestion's been profitable, it's the least he could do. And damn if she doesn't light up the dancefloor. His ideal place is watching from his lounge.
"Hey hey~ It's Tuesday and I'm here~!"
She shares his love of fun, and while she might not be nearly as fickle- she has her one thing and she likes it, okay? She'll drag Vladimir into it if he wants to dance and forget the present with her.
If he doesn't, she knows other old blood of the dance floor.
May have gotten drinking with him and convinced him to start Disco Tuesdays.
Closest to /something/ he's ever been with someone. Maybe he looks back and hurts after one too many drinks. So what.
She can't help but feel an ice grip on her heart whenever she thinks of him and is quick to go in the other direction if she spots him.
Even after all these years the pain of their break is still too much for her. Better to not even think of him at all...hard to do it when she's staring down the bottle though.
Hands holding his face like a lover would. Words that made thoughts rattle about in his head. And a presence that made the man know how much of his leg was in the grave right now.
The feeling was exhilirating.
A long story short of why Vladimir stopped scamming casino-goers:
Octavius.
He felt his lip curl into a snarl. What the hell was wrong with this dipshit?! Did he wanna get punched again? That what that grease smile was for? A fucking challenge? Did he not feel, from the moment he got flattened against the brick wall with a crack to his head, that the crazy motherfucker he'd pissed off had a gun? Did he wanna paint that damn wall?
He crowded Vlad (and what a tacky fucking name that was) into a corner and tightened his white-knuckle grip on his white swede collar.
"Listen to me... Listen to me, I will. Cut. Your ears off. And speak. INTO. Them, LISTEN TO ME!" Drops of spit landed on the poor man's face and Octavius realized, with no small amount of surprise, that he was already near frothing with rage. It made him take a moment to compose himself. He wiped his face down and rather leaned against Vladimir now, face schooled into the facade of a man looking for calm, pacifying conversation, suddenly. Funny that.
"Listen carefully. i. have. a gun. And that is.. VERY new to you. I'm not asking, i'm telling you. You might've seen a gun, you might've held one. You might've /felt/ one. But you have /never/ been on this side of the barrel. Have you? Ever. And i don't mean temple and cold metal, i don't mean that pansy might-might not type of shit, i don't mean the impromptu, unprepared type, /sweetheart/, you've ever taken some wannabe gangster lackey waving it around as a fucking prop seriously? Cause you sure as hell are alive so i'd say that's a yes. Cause those bastards love emptying a barrel just because they can. It's like measuring cocks to them, that's how they pull that trigger - like they havent seen people die before, and it's a laugh cause they end up dead by a very similar fucking gun. The morals you build is the morals you die by." He leaned his forearms against the wall and took Vladimir's face, holding it in his hands. Gentle like. "/I/ will die by a crazy trigger-happy motherfucker in a rank alleyway and the cops will scratch their temples at how my head ended up where it did." And finally, fear... Glazing over the drunk man's eyes, giving them a sharpness they'd lacked before. Vi grinned. "And I'll love every minute of it. /What a way to go!/ Ever been on the other end of this type of gun? Where the gunman knows it can turn on him. And is not afraid of it. Ever lived that type of fucking life, sweetheart?" He hissed out the sentiment he'd been called just a few minutes ago. The sound of it had itched at his ears. "Do unto others? Because you... let me tell you, you pathetic fuck, you will die poor. /Robbed./ Scammed./ And humiliated. Like every single person that leaves that little casino, like i just did." Vi blinked. "Or you could not."
(So yeah, they ended up fucking.)
He has that portrait of himself in his favourite red suit. He knows where most of the 'paint' on that piece came from and he can guess for the rest.
CUSTOMER: Zozo loved painting Vlad. His midnight goo was stunning to work with and he may have taken some extra to use for more paintings than his.
With an eternal vip pass to Vlad's club and a lounge always ready for him, Eetu's one damn valued customer and treasured friend. Has that fun, could-care-less vibe, if a bit soured by the sweet personality. Vlad wouldn't dare order the guy a stripper in case he up amd takes them out on a date instead. Hopeless, honestly...
FRIEND: Eetu loves to visit Vlad's club and have a bit of fun.
The other charming brother. He ain't a prince charming, he's goddamn SnowWhite, but Vlad doesn't comment on it, since he's a bit of an Evil Queen himself. Although may as well be a running joke how well Vlad dodges any and all compliments and how easily Eero dishes them out. The war is on and it usually ends with Eetu and him causing havoc.
He'll get him to visit the club sooner or later, mark his words.
FRIEND:
His baby sister. The absolue youngest out of all three. An entity of sass and headaches.
He still remembers the absolute panic he felt throughout most of Iolani's life, all things considered. Honestly, putting him in charge of someone must've been a cruel, hilarious joke on fate's part and he knows he did his level best and HE KNOWS it wasn't enough. Part of the reason he refused to become a father was his absolute failure to help either of his sisters achieve anything close to a decent life.
He'd die for either of them however way you spin it, he'd also murder for both. He's still got their backs - financially, physically, generally, except when it comes to contributing mental stability to the table. In fact, if you put all three of them together the table would still be pretty empty. Bummer. Well, least they all have fun at reunions right?
The middle child. Younger sister to Vladimir.
The only one who had a chance out of the three of them, far as he's concerned, and, well... lotta good that did her. He doesn't blame her, he's just on the same page with her as he is with Iolani, you know, stripper and escort businesses aren't the safest bets out there and the way Magdalena nonchalantly introduced her partner to him really made him want to hire both of them a bodyguard. An older sibling can only do so fucking much to not catch a heart attack ok..
But if you truly ask him she's his biggest failure in life after leaving Kalama. She had the chance, she had the smarts, just didn't have the right people beside her to diffuse that perfectionist streak in her. Save her some headaches and nights hyperventilating about tests. And now he's making up for it, not meddling in her life too much other than to check if she's happy. At the end of the day, when he was turning tricks and emptying pockets to help keep the family's head above the water he wasn't thinking 'doctor' or 'scientist', he was thinking 'happy'. And that's good enough.
He's still side-eyeing Malach so fucking hard though...
Dalena's bro. I've never told her I've been with him. Most of the time when I do get with him it's to do Octavius a favor or to steal something to sell. I still don't know what Oct see in this drunkie. And I hate going behind Dalena's back but I need to do something to get what I need.