“Look Me In The Eyes When You Leave Me.”

A SCENE FOR EVERY EPISODE — 9/63 BETTER CALL SAUL | 01x09 | PIMENTO

THE GRAY MAN, 2022.

tag drop.

“Some days you will feel like the ocean. Others you will feel like you are drowning in it.”

— Healing Is An Up-And-Down Process, Lora Mathis (via lora-mathis)

RYAN GOSLING as DRIVER ⤷ DRIVE (2011) dir. Nicolas Winding Refn

------#TVLBCT ; a study in leaving the past behind & walking away, walking the lines of moral ambiguity, what is right isn't always what is good, go ahead ... be a little selfish, loneliness is the anchor you've always carried with you, a life of grand adventure is always worth it in the end.

[intro][task 000]

part one: statistics.

basic information:

full name: jackson ambrose.

nickname(s): jack.

age: forty3.

date of birth: february 25, 1980.

place of birth: kenner, louisiana.

ethnicity: caucasian (french-canadian, english, scottish, german & irish roots).

nationality: american.

gender: cis man.

pronouns: he/him/his.

orientation: heteromantic heterosexual.

language(s) spoken: american english, ASL, farsi, & spanish.

accent: it's long since washed out, but from birth to ~25 he had a deep louisiana accent - closer to a new orleans accent.

family ties:

mother: alessia etienne ambrose.

father: unknown.

siblings: none.

spouse / partner: none. previous broken engagement.

children: none.

pets: one white cat named mozzarella.

occupational information:

codename: talbot.

meaning behind talbot: lawrence "larry" talbot is the titular character in the wolfman film from 1941, as well as its sequels. while not from literature the character of talbot is one of, if not the, most well-known and infamous werewolf characters in written and cinematic history. the character is bitten by a werwolf during his story and becomes the beast himself, only to be slain by the end of the film.

position: phantom.

skillset: basic underwater demolition seal training (bud/s), diving & land warfare, survive evade resist escape training (SERE), tactical ambushes, close-quarters combat, & sniper training all from his time with the seals. all of this is in line with special reconnaissance and direct action training - which talbot has outfitted to assist with his heists. while he isn't the most lithe man in the world, he has stamina and agility trained into him from his time in the military, coupled with breaching knowledge & reconnaissance training. he is also a master of krav maga.

physical appearance:

face claim: ryan gosling.

hair color: golden blond.

eye color: light blue.

height: 6'0 3/4".

weight: ~185lbs of muscle, mostly.

build: muscular, very toned.

tattoos: one denoting his seal team on his right forearm on the outside, talbot on his left forearm on the outside, a dice #5 on his right hand between his thumb and forefinger on the webbing, & a palm tree and sunrise on his left hand between his thumb and forefinger.

piercings: none.

clothing style: dark-wash and worn jeans or black khaki pants and plain colored tee-shirts with a dark, worn leather jacket and military-style work boots. in formal settings he's prone to a fitted blazer with a plain colored or white tee-shirt beneath it and fitted dress slacks.

distinguishing characteristics: well-kept facial hair (beard), tattoos on his hands and the deep, twisted scar on his left shoulder. his body is entirely scarred, though he usually wears clothes to cover it.

personality:

mbti: istj-a (logistician).

element: earth.

western zodiac: pisces.

chinese zodiac: monkey.

positive traits: adaptable, calm, capable, charistmatic, driven, dutiful, independent, meticulous, resourceful, steadfast

negative traits: aloof, blunt, cold, disconnected, domineering, greedy, malicious, sadistic, sarcastic, venomous

hobbies: mapping the stars, indulging in sci-fi and horror media, keeping in shape (practicing krav maga and working out / running).

character inspiration: mike ehrmantraut (breaking bad, better call saul), sierra six (the gray man), magneto (x-men), jim raynor (starcraft), lorraine broughton (atomic blonde), perry cox (scrubs), frank delfino (how to get away with murder), general kirigan (shadow and bone), cassian andor (andor), man in black (westworld).

part two: questionnaire.

001.  the professor provides every member of libertalia a unique codename that reflects their personality. each codename is derived from various forms of mythology, folklore, or literature. why do you think the professor chose that name for you? do you agree or disagree with his decision?

------" it's not because i'm hairy. " his laugh was humorless, body language somehow both more tense and more relaxed than it should have been, both at the same time. " lawrence talbot was a troubled man who sought to do what he perceived as the right thing, met strange circumstances and ultimately died. maybe the professor can see the future. " he shrugged, though his eyes never left the interviewer. not unlike a cat, he only blinked a few times during the exchange, " i'll agree with it. i'm a horror fan and talbot has always been a figure i enjoyed. can't change it, anyway, so ultimately it doesn't matter what i think. " 002.  gaining an invitation into libertalia isn’t an easy feat. what do you think made you special enough to get handpicked by the professor? and what qualities do you think allowed you to join your position?

------" i have no idea, honestly. i just did what i was told in the SEALs until i was offered a position here. " he shrugged, trying to recall the exact time he'd been informed by his CO that he would be discharged when his tour was done. it was young to be let go from a special unit like that - talbot had been curious at the time, but long since let the notion go. " i know i worked my ass off in the military. always strove to be the best ... but everyone will tell you that about themselves. there must've been something about my best that was better than the next person's i worked with. maybe he liked my spunky upbringing. " he was a thief as a child, and a silver-tongued one at that. but weren't most kids?

003.  the captain’s crew is the highest position at libertalia, they are the select few who are aware of the professor’s identity. do you desire to graduate to this level? if you’re already a member of the captain’s crew what motivated you to change your position?

------his head shook, even one hand rose from where it rested on his thigh to gesture, as if he were refusing a refill on a drink. " no. that sounds like responsibility. the less i know about the people i currently work with or for, the better. i don't want to know anyone's real names or identities, where they come from or why. i just want the professor to point me in a direction and shoot.

004.  although many members of libertalia don’t know each other’s personal lives, it’s rumored that many members came from suspicious backgrounds. who were you before joining and what was your life like prior?

------" i was a navy SEAL from louisiana. my mother was anything but that and i never knew my father's name or met him. never got in trouble with the law but i broke it more than a few times. for a long time i was told when to wake up, when to sleep, when to eat and what, when to shit, how to dress ... they spent a lot of time rewiring my brain to be a weapon and gave me purpose. i don't necessarily agree with it, but they didn't pay me to agree. they paid me to get information and occasionally kill. " a pause, " that good? "

005.  what was your primary motivation for joining libertalia? was it for the riches or for the thrill of adventure? or is there something else motivating you to continue working for the group? what do you hope to achieve?

------talbot shifted in his seat. his shoulders relaxed a bit, lips parted as he sighed - mind combing the right words for the answer. " adventure, i guess. money only matters while you're alive. once you're dead ... " another shrug. " i like the opportunity to flex some of the skills i otherwise had or were trained for, but seldom got to use. i'm a big boy, i don't get to be sneaky very often. don't get to charm my way into information often either, not since i was a kid back home and people there were dumb as hell. " his head canted to the side slightly, blond hair shifted into his lashes, " just here for a good time. "

006.  how would the other members describe you? would you consider yourself to be a team-player or do you prefer to work independently?

------he snorted, " ask them. cold? distant? they don't really know me. i prefer that. i like working alone better, i can trust myself. look, everyone is here because they're skilled at what they do but i know myself. i won't fuck myself over for personal gain, i know what i'm physically and mentally capable of. relying on other people like that? it was easier in the military but these people aren't a unit like that. you're not trained and taught to rely on them. they're potentially here for purely selfish reasons ... and i respect that. so i'd rather play alone than wind up in a snag. "

007.  libertalia is anonymous, therefore necessitates secrecy outside of the group. how do you balance your personal life outside of this, granted you have one? is there a clear separation between libertalia and your personal life?

------" easily. my personal life is personal. i treat myself like a ghost - don't exist outside of the group, so people don't ask questions. it's shit for your credit score but it ensures you don't fuck up somewhere. " another pause. light blue eyes narrow, " work is work. everything you're doing when you're not assigned something or actively searching for treasure is not work. it's very easy to separate the two, so yes, there's a clear separation. "

008.  henry avery’s treasure has been lost since 1695. even with the brightest minds on the case, all leads to find the treasure haven’t turned up. avery’s treasure is the professor’s white whale and after several years of searching, many believe the treasure ceases to exist. do you believe the treasure exists?

------" unless it has mythological or fantastical ties, it exists. so ... no sword from the lady of the lake. but a real person's treasure is really somewhere. just a matter of finding the right people, the right clues. i mean, if something like that was under speculation and you were one of ... if not the only person who had even a shred of evidence of it ... would you tell everyone? or would you leave it to yourself and maybe one other person ... to find it? lessens the chance of some other person going after it, doesn't it? "

009.  do you trust the professor? do you trust the libertalia?

------finger raised, pointed at the interviewer as if they'd made an excellent point of something and talbot was agreeing with it. "that's a question. i trust the professor with information and giving me a task to complete. with my life? no. " one final pause. any tenseness in his body had dissipated over the course of the questioning, and now only a cocksure expression painted his otherwise emotionless features, neutral body language, " the libertalia? not even a little. "

Parks and Recreation  (2009-2015)