Darth Wiki / Scarlet Fleece

"Any one of these people could be untrustworthy, and she wouldn't know it."

Scarlet Fleece is an ongoing webnovel by SkyCat32, and the intended first novel of the planned Bohemia Café Case Files.

Sgt. Joel "Brick" Zigelstein has difficulty getting along with his sister in law, Scarlet "Sal" Davarashvili-Caballero, a small time weed dealer who lives with him and his wife—her sister—Jillian.

However, when Sal is a suspect in a grisly Aventura murder, Brick suspects that Sal is innocent, and seeks the truth.

You need to find new tropes, or a new home:

• Accidental Misnaming: When Bess, the Bohemia Café barista, is mistakenly referred to as "Beth", she expresses internal relief that she wasn't deliberately referred to by her deadname, but still politely corrects Jiménez.
• Aloof Big Brother: Despite Joel's disapproval for his younger sister-in-law Scarlet's weed dealing, Joel is initially more laissez-faire towards Scarlet's safety, lulled into what ends up being a false sense of security by the fact that Scarlet's weed dealing ostensibly isn't as dangerous as Joel's policing or Jill's emergency medicine.
  "Give me a break. She sells grass to potheads who waste their time getting baked and playing video games. How is that any more dangerous than what either of us does?"
• Anger Born of Worry: Jill is upset when she finds out Sal has been dealing drugs again, since she worries for Sal's safety. Jill's concerns turn out to be valid when Sal disappears after her latest drug deal.
• Both Sides Have a Point:
  • Joel and Jill disagree over whether Sal should be evicted from their apartment. According to Jill, Sal needs guidance and therefore it would be prudent to keep her proverbially within arms reach. According to Joel, Sal needs to learn independence, and therefore it would be best to let her go. Both options are presented as reasonable.
  • Joel initially posits that being a drug dealer is no more of a risk than being a police officer or emergency room physician, and that dealing drugs is merely a waste of Sal's potential. Jill counters that Sal doesn't do background checks, and that she cannot be certain that her life is not at risk. Both points are presented as valid, although Jill's concerns are proven to be warranted when Sal disappears after her latest drug deal.
• Butch Lesbian: Bess, the Bohemia Café barista, is a trans lesbian with a penchant for tomboyish fashion.
• By-the-Book Cop: Despite his wisecracking exterior, Brick is, in contrast to the comparatively morally flexible Jiménez, a police officer who tries to follow regulations as much as possible in his pursuit of justice. Jiménez notably takes advantage of Brick's attempt to balance morality and legality to emotionally extort what little information he can out of Brick to help his case.
• The Chanteuse: Brooke Waters is a fashionable coffeehouse singer who performs at the Bohemia Café. She notably performs a rendition of "House of the Rising Sun", foreshadowing Scarlet's captivity at the derelict Deauville Resort.
• Chubby Mama, Skinny Papa: Sgt. Joel "Brick" Zigelstein has a lean frame in contrast to his wife, Dr. Jillian Zigelstein's fuller figure. Brick's figure highlights his more abrasive and sarcastic tendencies, while Jill's shape highlights her more nurturing and protective demeanor.
• The Conscience: Bess, the Bohemia Café's barista, is suggested to regularly make attempts to appeal to her boss, Maddy Stone's conscience, while Maddy is borderline dismissive towards such attempts to the point of reiterating to Bess that Bess is there to pay off her wife's debt.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Olena runs Lunares Property Brokerage, a real estate company which is a front for Human Trafficking.
• Covert Group with Mundane Front: Lunares Property Brokerage is a human trafficking syndicate masquerading as a real-estate brokerage.
• Cowboy Cop: Sgt. Angel Jiménez is not above performing morally flexible, if technically legal actions in the pursuit of justice. For example, he makes Scarlet choose between letting him arrest a butcher shop employee who accidentally let her into the shop in addition to herself (for harboring a fugitive), or testifying against whoever framed her in order to get charges against her dropped.
• Detective Mole: Lt. Liam McTyre is a homicide detective on the payroll of Olena Vovchak who stymies the investigation into her organization.
• Diabolical Mastermind: Olena Vovchak runs a vast Human Trafficking organization using Lunares Property Brokerage as a front.
• Disposable Vagrant: The Human Trafficking syndicate primarily targets disenfranchised individuals in the hopes that their disappearances will not attract as much attention. Once the pattern becomes too much for a García to dismiss as coincidence, García attempts to raise his concerns to McTyre, who accuses him of "going all 'Rain Man' over absurd conspiracy theories" behind his back. Unfortunately, McTyre is in on the conspiracy.
• Dirty Communists: Olena's biological father was a KGB official who threatened to put her in a labor camp if she didn't pay him off.
• Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Scarlet's ex, Seth, fetishizes female sexual predators and considers male survivors "lucky" or "snowflakes". In contrast, Scarlet herself—a human rights and welfare advocate—absolutely refuses to abide by the notion that male targets of abuse don't exist, stating that "while women and girls in particular frequently find themselves on the receiving end, anyone can be sexually abused or harassed".
• The Easy Way or the Hard Way: When confronted by Sgt. Jiménez—who wants her as a witness—Scarlet has to choose between being arrested and having the person who accidentally let her into a butcher shop arrested for harbouring a fugitive, or testifying and potentially getting any charges against her dropped.

Jiménez: So, what's it gonna be, Scarlet? Carrot or stick?

• Fire-Forged Friends: Joel and Sal's interactions improve as a result of having to deal with the fallout of Scarlet's traumatic experience at the hands of Human Traffickers.
• Frame-Up: Joel suspects that Sal was framed for murder. Jiménez, who takes over the case, comes to a similar conclusion.
• Friend on the Force: Joel is Sal's connection in the Miami-Dade Police Department, much to his own frustration. Joel has bailed Sal out of trouble multiple times, to the point that his patience is wearing thin.
• Getting High on Their Own Supply: Sal is noted to avoid partaking in the weed she sells.
• Good Guns, Bad Guns: While the MDPD primarily uses NATO-compatible weaponry, the gangsters primarily use Post-Soviet Replicas and Eastern European ordinance. Then again, Scarlet "borrows" a few weapons from her captors, and there is a traitor among the MDPD who uses a SIG-Sauer P226.
• Good Stepmother: Bess Wolfe, the barista at the Bohemia Café, is portrayed as a protective stepmom to her son, Ryan Dunham-Wolfe, pointedly having been disgusted with the Berkley School Board for allowing alleged sexual predators (who worked as adult models) to read to children, taking it as a threat to her stepson's safety. Furthermore, Bess's marriage to Jess (Ryan's mother) had nearly been ruined due to Jess withholding the fact that she had borrowed money from Maddy Stone from both Bess and Ryan, resulting in Bess having to work off Jess's debt.
• Heh Heh, You Said "X": Scarlet's brother-in-law, Joel, makes an unintentional weed related pun while chewing Scarlet out for weed dealing. Scarlet laughs, then points out the pun.

Joel: You may think that you can just do whatever you want and get away with it because your brother-in-law is a cop, but – if you'll excuse me for being blunt – rest assured, I will kick your ass to the curb if I catch you dealing again, so I'd better not catch you doing it. Not. Under. My. Roof. (Scarlet Laughs.) What's so funny?

Scarlet: Heh. You said "blunt".

• Human Traffickers: Olena runs an organization which specializes in forced prostitution.
• It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The story begins on a rainy evening.
  What had been pleasant weather on a cool March day in Miami-Dade County was starting to evolve into a torrential downpour in the evening, with palm trees swaying in the wind, and the streets collecting water. Across the area, people were heading for cover, including a shopper in Sunny Isles beach. When she got to her car, she dropped her groceries, shocked at what she saw.
• Jewish Mother: In a variation on the stereotype of the overbearing Jewish mother, Dr. Jill Zigelstein treats her sister, Sal, like a child, and as such can be somewhat overbearing and overprotective. She is introduced during a take-out dinner of Kosher sushi giving Sal flak for dealing weed, since doing so puts Sal in a vulnerable position.
• Knight Templar Big Sister: Jill is very protective of her sister Scarlet, constantly worrying about her being targeted as a result of weed dealing.
• Little Red Fighting Hood: Scarlet is a Little Red Riding Hood analogue who wears a red hoodie and rides a motorcycle, eventually fights her way out of danger, and eventually pursues her tormentors to avenge her (and others') horrific treatment at the hands of the Human Traffickers led by Olena.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: According to Olena's diary, KGB official Oleksiy Doroshenko revealed himself as her biological father when she tried to bribe him with sex, with Doroshenko allegedly stating "incest doesn't line my pockets".
• Men Can't Keep House:
  • García has previously been set up with women who believe in "the sexist notion that cooking was for women", with García complaining that they often make comments about how "men can't cook".
  • Seth, Scarlet's ex, is noted to be incompetent in the kitchen due in part to his misogynistic viewpoints.
• Mouthy Kid: Ryan Dunham-Wolfe, Bess and Jess's son, has a bit of an (understandable) resentment problem with regards to how Jess's choice to borrow money from a known criminal and put the family in debt has created more distance between him and both his parents due to both parents working longer as a result.
  "That stupid pawn shop almost took both my mothers away. It didn’t even have the decency to do it quickly like Gran’s heart attack. No, it had to do it slowly and painfully, by forcing both you and Mom to work long hours to pay off a criminal."
• New Parent Nomenclature Problem: In a downplayed variation, Ryan Dunham-Wolfe calls his (adoptive) mother, Jess Dunham-Wolfe, "Mom"; and calls his stepmother, Bess Wolfe, "Mum".
• Noble Bigot with a Badge: When Sgt. Joel Zigelstein confronts Lt. Liam McTyre about putting the former's sister-in-law, Scarlet Davarashvili-Caballero, into the hands of a forced prostitution ring, Joel refers to the ringleader, Olena Vovchak, as a "filthy Cossack" before reminding himself that Olena trafficked other Ukrainian nationals as well.
• Old Tale, New Twist: The novel is a detective novel twist on a classic fairy tale.
• Only in Miami: Miami stands in for the Bohemian Forest in this Detective Novel twist on a classic tale.
• Post-Rape Taunt:
  • In a reversal, Brick makes a quip at the expense of McTyre over Scarlet shooting the latter in the groin, or "show[ing] [McTyre] what a real man isn't" in retaliation for McTyre selling her into prostitution, with Jill reacting mildly irritated to said joke. Scarlet herself calls shooting McTyre "a disappearing act" in an Ironic Echo of what McTyre said when he sold her into prostitution.
  • In a more straight example, while in the custody of MDPD personnel including Detective Matthew Farkas-García, Olena Vovchak refers to Scarlet Davarashvili-Caballero—who had survived being sexually abused by Olena herself in addition to Olena's prostitution racket—as an "especially disappointing conquest".
• Precision F-Strike: Jill swears extremely infrequently, and only when she wants to underscore a point. She notably calls Joel out for acting like Sal "is nothing more than a cockblocker and a drain on our resources".
• Prefers Proper Names: Lt. Liam McTyre insists on addressing and being addressed by rank and/or surname, correcting Sgt. Joel "Brick" Zigelstein when Brick calls him "Sir", insisting on being called "Lieutenant". In contrast, Brick is more lax with how he is addressed.
• Race Lift: Instead of being a Germanic European as Red Riding Hood has often been portrayed in illustrations of the Grimm Story, Scarlet is portrayed as a Jewish Woman of Georgian and Latina origin.
• Real Men Can Cook: García and Brick both view culinary activities as survival skills, and take a dim view of anyone who thinks that men like themselves shouldn't learn to cook.
• Real Men Take It Black:
  • In a twist on the usual stereotype about unadulterated coffee preferences, Scarlet's vocal preference for black coffee to the point of suggesting the Bohemia Café charge for sugar foreshadows Scarlet's resilience as a sexual abuse survivor.
  "I used to take my coffee with an absurd amount of sugar, but when I discovered that I liked black coffee, I never returned to sweetened coffee. Have you considered that if more people took less or no sugar in their coffee, we could have even slightly less of a health crisis in America than we already do?"
  • Olena Vovchak's preference for black coffee is in keeping with her pride towards being a very powerful and respected woman in one of the most affluent areas of the Southeastern seaboard.
• Relationship-Salvaging Disaster: Scarlet's trauma at the hands of Olena and her subordinates, not to mention Joel and Jillian being targeted by Olena's goons, force the couple to put aside their differences and help Scarlet in whatever way possible.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Sal jokes that she can get away with doing whatever she wants because her brother in law, Joel, is a homicide detective; Joel, frustrated by having to interrupt an investigation to bail Sal out, threatens to evict her if she continues to deal drugs.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Jiménez will seemingly exploit any loophole at his disposal so he can thoroughly investigate his cases. In contrast, Jiménez accuses Brick of having "a stick up his ass where his conscience should be".
• Sex Slave: Lunares Property Brokerage is a front for a forced prostitution ring.
• Shady Real Estate Agent: Olena Vovchak uses her real-estate brokerage as a cover for human trafficking.
• The Slacker: Sal starts out as an otherwise unemployed drug dealer who mooches off of her sister and brother in law. After her misadventure at the hands of Lunares Property Brokerage, she decides to find a legitimate occupation and live independently as a Private Detective.
• Soapbox Sadie: Scarlet is very opinionated when it comes to human rights and nutrition.
• The Spook: In a heroic variation, Rodney "Sparkplug" Lopez, García's trans, impoverished sculptor friend, is noted to be very secretive about his past, including his own deadname. In a deconstruction, Sparkplug's concealment of his entire past hinders any chance of identification of the motive behind his disappearance, with speculation ranging between Sparkplug being targeted as part of a transphobic hate crime to any of countless other reasons why the disenfranchised are usually targeted by criminals.
• Starving Artist: Both Sparkplug and Carson Calderón are impoverished artists, Sparkplug being a sculptor and Carson being an illustrator.
• Straw Misogynist: Sal's ex, Seth, lusts after a female sexual predator, regularly assumes rape survivors are "lying bitch(es)", puts Sal down, makes "sandwich" comments, dismisses sexual abuse as a "women's issue", and tries to deflect criticism of predator apologia by saying that 13 year old boys have crushes on teachers all the time, leading to them breaking up. Sgt. Jiménez later refers to Seth as a "rape-culture proponent pissant".
• Thicker Than Water: As frustrating as Joel finds interacting with Sal to be, he still considers her family, pointing out that her behaviour would be unacceptable even if they were biologically related. Joel also takes it personally when Sal is trafficked.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: Played with; Joel gives Sal an ultimatum, making her choose between discontinuing her drug dealing, and eviction. Joel strongly suspects that Sal will not fulfill these terms, a concern which prompts Joel to contemplate evicting her in any case.
• To Be Lawful or Good: Brick is indicated to be more conflicted about breaking MDPD regulations than his more subversive fellow officer, Sgt. Jiménez.
• The Topic of Cancer: Jiménez is worried that he won't be able to solve the Turnberry Lodge case before his ailing grandmother, Raquel Rivera, dies of pancreatic cancer, and therefore will not have the chance to pay his respects while she is still alive.
• Trans Tribulations: When Sparkplug, a starving trans artist disappears, possible motives discussed for his abduction include transphobia. It turns out that his sociological minority status had less to do with why he was targeted than his socioeconomic status.
• Twerp Sweating: Joel jokes that his Glock has been very shiny because of how much he hated Sal's ex, Seth.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Lt. McTyre, the acting replacement for Lt. Cazares, impedes and hamstrings Brick's investigation. He is in league with Olena, the leader of the Human Trafficking organization.
• The Vamp: Olena is a seductress and predator who runs a prostitution ring.
• What Does She See in Him?: Despite his difficult familial relationship with Scarlet, Joel admits to wondering when Scarlet would "have the good sense to dump [Seth's] sorry ass", considering Seth's abusive behaviour, rape apologist tendencies, and overall chauvinism. Scarlet herself jokes that she has better taste in food than she does in men.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: Ryan Dunham-Wolfe, the son of Jess and Bess, is frustrated by the fact that both his Mom and his Mum have to work long hours to pay off a debt and barely get time to interact with him.