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If you were to try and understand why the dynamic between the vipers and the al-asims is the way it is, well…
You’d have to understand who the families are individually first.
If you could describe the Vipers in one word it would be “sharp”. Quick on the uptake, strategic, good execution.
And they also have the extremely bad luck to get entangled with the asims.
Now, if you were to describe the al-asims in one word it would be “privelaged”.
You might think that isn’t a way to explain their personality or who they are personality wise, but i asure you, it does. It fits them really well. Because it is of this privilege that they are selfish and possessive, foolhardy and brutal.
You might not think it, looking at them, but they all had a capability for cruelty only the elite can posses.
All that is to say: when an al-asim wants something, they will have it. No matter the cost.
And the Vipers are, unfortunately, a family that has captured the fascination of the al-asims for generations.
Now a days, where there was a Viper, there was an Asim. it would be the other way around, but there weren’t nearly enough vipers to match every member of the asim family.
In turn, having a viper as a servant became somethwat of a status symbol in the family. Having a viper assigned to you, meant that you were worth something. It was all but a mark of inheritance.
Not that the relationship between the two families was always so obviously materialistic. It all depended on the asim in power. There were times where the Vipers were treated as the asim’s closest friends (well, as close you can treat a slave a friend without freeing them, that is), and there were times the Vipers were nothing more than toys, jewelry. Things to have, show off, and break.
And you might be wondering: why do the vipers put up with it?
Why does anyone put up with any mistreatment? Fear.
It’s a simple answer, really. But one that has been true for as long as humans have been alive.
It has long since been lost to time how the vipers came into their servitude to the asims in the first place, but the memory, stretched over generations, of what was to happen should they dare to resist? It is carved into them like stone.
Jamil was not the first to strain against the chains and try to throw them off. The difference is that he had the luck of not revolting when in asim territory, and kalim (unlike many of his forefathers) didn’t chain him up and lock him away to prevent him from escaping.
Oh, does that sound a bit yanderish? Yes, that is ultimately the crux of the matter regarding the relationship between the Vipers and the Al-Asims.
The asims were obsessed with the vipers, for whatever reason. They wanted them. All of them.
(It may have to do with a certain spell a sorcerer cast on their forebearers to increase their reliance on him. But that should have worn off generations ago.)
And so any indication that Vipers do not want them on turn? It sets them off like nobody’s business.
Just ask Jamil’s great-grandfather. He tried to escape, and when the asims found out, they locked him into a room, never to be seen again unless it was as a warning to his “free” relatives.
Jamil’s father only saw his grandfather 1 time, but that one time was enough to stop any fight he had in him. And it was enough for him to stalwartly prevent his children from doing anything that might upset their masters, even if his children resented him for it.
Which is why it is so frustrating that the current Asims seem to have all but forgotten what their family has done.
Truly, the axe forgets, but the tree remembers.
Now don’t get them wrong, were they happy that the current asims viewed them more as friends than as objects? Sure. But they were under no illusion about what would happen should they try to ask for freedom.
I suppose in that sense, Kalim is far above the rest of his family in that he would free Jamil from his servitude when he has the power to.
And it is perhaps, because of that that Kalim gets what all his predecessors have been longing for: genuine true care from a Viper that comes from a place other than fear.
Yes, Kalim and Jamil’s relationship is still rocky. Yes, there is still resentment in Jamil’s heart to the Asims.
But that doesn’t change the fact that there is now a part of him that genuinely cares for Kalim, not because he has to, but because he wants to.
If you love them, let them go. If they love you, they’ll come back on their own.
Would it take years to unpack Jamil’s resentment, would it take years to break down and rebuild their relationship from the ground up? Would it take decades for them to look at each other and feel nothing more than genuine love and affection not tainted by years of servitude?
Absolutely. But the gate was open. The path was accessible. Maybe there were things blocking the road, or some sharp rocks they stepped on. Maybe they wandered off the path every once in a while and it took them time to get back on it. But at these obstacles happened, they’re understanding and appreciation for the road increased.
It’s not a perfect match, not a perfect love story despite what others would love to say. They hurt each other, tore at each other, suffocated each other at times. And it was not a case of “they wouldn’t have it any other way” because they would, quite frankly. But there was choice. In with that choice, there was respect and honesty.
But you’re not here for introspection, you’re here for drama.
So let me tell you how it was announced that Kalim and Jamil were in a relationship and everyone (read: the Asims) lost their fucking mind.
To get one thing straight, they did not enter into a relationship while Kalim was still officially Jamil’s master. It was not even something they talked about, even though it was VERY clear that they were heading in that direction.
Because contrary to popular belief (most of the time) Kalim could be pretty intelligent when he cared enough about it, and he had no intention of forcing a relationship under anything other than equal terms.
He did not want a relationship as a result of the power imbalance between Master and servant (slave) and he did not want it to be misinerpteted as the relationship being a condition for Kalim freeing the Vipers. So he did not even mention it.
When the day came that Kalim finally had the power, he released not just the Vipers, but all the generational servants from their service.
Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t throw them on the streets, he simply terminated the existing contracts and offered the servants the opportunity to form new, individual contracts that could be renewed every year for those who wanted to stay, and offered compensation and aid to follow their dream or wants for those who wanted to go.
While a good amount of people chose to stay, mostly because they were older and didn’t know what else to do, quiet a few younger ones took the opportunity to chase their own goals.
It caused one hell of an uproar amongst the Asims and relations.
Not that Kalim gave a damn, and honestly? His servants would be less likely to help in trying to murder him if they were there willingly rather than by force. You don’t garner loyalty with shackles.
It was no surprise that both Jamil and Najma decided to take the opportunity break free.
What cause the most shock, however, is the elder viper’s decision to take a nice, long, way overdue, honey moon/family vacation.
They weren’t terminating their service, but, to quote mama viper once she was finally on vacay, they “needed a fucking break.”
There was no way of rating who was more shocked: the elder Asims or Viper siblings.
The elder Asims put on a brave face as they congratulated the elder Vipers on their (at least a year long) vacation while crying inside at being separated from the objects of their affection (obsession).
Meanwhile, Jamil and Najma couldn’t help but look at their parents in disbelief.
“Ho-ly shit,” Najma gaped.
“I didn’t think they had it in them,” Jamil muttered, eyes wide as he looked at his parents.
Behind them, Kalim stood grining, “So! What are your plans?”
“Well, i’m going to college,” Najma stated immediately, “don’t get me wrong, i like you. But no. I’m not staying here.”
Kalim nodded, unsurprised.
“You already know what i’m doing,” Jamil stated flatly.
“Yup,” Kalim laughed, “and you’re welcome back to visit anytime! I’ll make sure to throw a super, amazing banquet just for you!”
“Sweet Sevens no,” Jamil muttered under his breath.
Now, before we proceed, you might be asking the question: why should Jamil have had to wait for someone else to be decide he and his family should be free before he could actually obtain it?
After all, shouldn’t his freedom be a right everyone has, and not just bestowed upon him because his master liked him?
Shouldn’t he be allowed to too lash out, hate the people who owned him like a dog?
Well yes, he should.
The reality of the situation is that none of this should have happened in the first place. No one should ever be someone else’s slave.
But that is not the world they live in.
And he could throw his life away fighting the Asims, raging, raising hell. And maybe he would have done so, if Kalim wouldn’t have freed him, held him and his family to the same bonds that have chained his predecessors.
But Kalim did, and he is selfish enough, and tired enough that he would take it. What is revenge, justice? When it meant throwing away freedom and peace for a lifetime of fire and hate?
That might be what others would have chosen, what he would have chosen had he been a beter man, but he was exhausted.
He would not allow anyone to forget, he would make sure it was written down in their families’ histories. But he would not spark the inferno.
And so the Al-Asim’s history of owning people (having slaves) ended, with a whimper, not a bang.
Freedom, true freedom, was unlike anything Jamil had ever tasted. It danced on his tongue, kissed his skin. He spent the first few weeks traveling with his family, a well deserved vacation where they rebuilt what was broken down and neglected under the Asim’s rule. They saw places they had never seen before, went where the Asims had never thought to go.
And when the time came, Jamil landed a job where Kalim couldn’t find him. They knew, they both did, that Jamil needed to get away completely from him. Somewhere kalim would not run into him, would not see him, would not know where he was.
It was like being stone cold sober after years of heavy drugs. The withdrawel hit them both hard. Do they want to go back to the way they were before, even the time after Jamil’s overblot and they worked things out? No. But it was such a natural, comfortable, and easy way of existing, their minds couldn’t help but crave it after the assault of their new state of being.
There were many times jamil was caught up in such worry for the white haired boy that he ended up looking up flight back before he caught himself.
There were many times where Kalim had to lock himself away before he broke and demanded that Jamil were to be found and brought (dragged) back to him.
God, they were a mess.
Their parents were not much better, though Kalim made sure to keep the rest of the Asims on a tight leash, and the elder vipers had an even larger need to experience their freedom, so it ended up ok.
Najma was lucky that she hadn’t been assigned to a single Asim, having only attended the family at mass and as such she had no such personal attachment.
Jamil was jealous.
But over time it became easier. It was a whole year later that they spoke again for the first time. Over the phone, that is. They didn’t want to risk a relapse.
As time went on, they begane talking more, until there wasn’t a tinge of desperation every time they spoke. Until their interactions filled them with excitement and genuine happiness rather than the borderline dependence and craving.
The first time they met again was at a reunion hosted by leovil. Away from the Scalding Sands on neutral grounds.
Their friends may have been notified to prevent either of them from kidnapping the other, but who’s counting?
From there, their relationship continued to develop, a continuation of their time at NRC but also something completely new. Something they cultivated from the ground up.
They went on dates, not as master and servant, not as childhood friends, but as Kalim and Jamil, courting each other as if they were meeting for the first time.
They never ignored their history, they didn’t wipe it clean. Not only could they not, it would have been a disservice to them both.
So they adapted, learning to meet in the middle as Jamil and Kalim, the former master/slave, childhood friends duo who had a toxic codependence between each other, and as jamil and Kalim, the two adults who had matured and lived as their own person, ready to find a partner to walk beside them for the rest of their life.
It got messy at times, they had to work to stop themselves from falling into old habits.
On more than one occasion Kalim yelled at jamil for putting his life on the line to protect Kalim. And on more than one occasion Jamil yelled at kalim for going overboard and being unreasonable.
But there was no bitterness. Only understanding and growing love as they worked hard together to build something new out of the ashes.
And when that day came, where they vowed to each other? There was no regret.
And when that day came where brought a child into the world? They knew that it was a better world than from when they were young.
And that’s the goal, isn’t it?
(side note: were the Asims Jealous that Kalim could accomplish the very thing every one of them had wanted where they failed? Very much. It was very amusing.)