open ♔ socialization log (april through july)

[wynn]

WHO || Everyone! [ota]
WHAT || Shenanigans.
WHERE || Anywhere in the castle, surrounding environs, London, Andres, etc!
WHEN || Any time in April/May/June/July
HOW || Actionspam

[ The castle can be a happening place, even on more mundane days. This log is for random interactions over the course of these few months. Because not everyone is into parties, ok.   Characters participating in the following missions are asked to wait until their missions have concluded before tagging into things that take place chronologically after said missions:  Dead of Winter, Curse of the Homo Magi, Ravenloft, Shadow Bermuda, and City of Blood  If you aren't certain if that applies to you, please ask!  Characters who are not currently squired in may also post, as their characters are living in the castle awaiting their ceremonies.

You are encouraged to start your own threads and tag around, and feel free to threadjack into any on-going threads that aren't specified as 'closed' in the subject lines since people can enter into rooms even in the middle of what's going on. WE ARE BIG ON THREAD-JACKING HERE. You can also specify 'single thread', meaning you want only one response for all participants, rather than multi-thread, where a number of different scenes/threads can be done as replies to the top prompt.]

On this log:

Wynn/Section Heads @ Various
Cheryl @ Front Desk
Myri @ her room & various
Skye @ Various
Buffy & Rafael @ the Kitchen
Peter @ Rec Rooms, Bowling Alley, Etc.
Liam @ Rec Room
Baal @ Various
Malina @ Dragon's Fire Wing/outside/kitchen/bar/library/Rec Room
Sweets @ Dragon's Light wing/Rec room/music room
Kali @ training room / firing range / outside / etc
Elena @ firing range / gym / kitchen / common rooms
Vi @ firing range / garden / rec room
Dean @ firing range / billiards room / library / kitchen
Jaina @ garage / training room / roof / computer room / bar
Lazarus & Vi | closed
Nick @ training room / firing range / rec rooms / computer room / bar / various
Des (& Zarad) @ NYC / firing range / training room
Elena @ 21st birthday party!
Alex @ garage / airfield / London / firing range / rec room / etc
Dante @ training room / old man bar / library
Andrew @ his room / computer lab / rec room
Alcide @ bars / grounds
Faye @ Gold's room / her room / various
Thoster @ hallways
Ollie @ training room / Dragon's Hoard wing
Mars @ library / room / gardens
Doyle @ the bar
Sebastian @ training room / his room
Neal @ various
Klaus @ rec room / kitchen / bedrooms
Adam @ Dragon's Light wing / various
Aedan @ training room / Dragon's Light wing / outdoors / rec room
Thea @ training room / grounds / bar / rec room / pool / various
Carol @ training room / grounds / roof
Kate @ training room / library / grounds / London
Ric @ Dragon's Hoard labs / bars / homeschooling kids
Jo @ lobby / various
Abigail @ firing range / gym / grounds / library / Dragon's Fire wing
Steve @ training room / various
David @ training room / library / grounds / kitchen
Emma S @ the pond / library / firing range
Amy @ library / kitchen / etc
Clark @ various
Erica @ grounds / training area / library / etc
Natasha @ firing range / training room / gym / bar / billiards / rec room
Sara @ bars / training room / gym / various
Hook @ bar / kitchen
Taradiddle @ Dragon's Light wing / grounds / places she shouldn't be
Sam @ library  / shooting range / castle grounds
Alice @ Dragon Light's wing / rec room / kitchen / training room / outside
Cora @ her room / grounds / training room / library / kitchen / TV room / computer lab
Will @ pond / firing range / castle grounds

Comments

[slay]

She takes everything she can't fix personally.

[ Buffy finished the sentence with a sigh, drawing back to look up at him. ]

When the Mind Master gets what's coming to her, she's gonna have a lot to answer for. I plan on being a very big part of that.

[nothingsodivine]

There's gonna be a line up the block for that party, and I'll happily be the guy taking pictures. [He swallows and rubs the back of his head.]

[slay]

Des a year ago would have wanted the first swing at the piñata. [ She looks interested in the shift. ]

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, well. After what she's done to hurt Elena and Myri, I'm willin' to let them get the first shots. She ain't one big reminder of a long nightmare to me. Just another bad guy that needs to be taken out. [he huffs.] We all got our monsters, Blondie.

[slay]

One less.

[ She folded her arms under her chest, hunched her shoulders, and turned away. Anderson was dead, at least. Hopefully, there weren't more where he came from, waiting in the Vatican's private stores. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des glances down at the floor.] Yeah, that one's still there sometimes, even if it's just in my head, and he wasn't even really my monster. Just a symbol. And symbols don't die like men do.

[slay]

A symbol of what?

[ And here she thought she was the only one having nightmares about Anderson these days. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[well, here comes some startling information no one's asked him about. At first he goes quiet, and then he figures not talking isn't as helpful as trying to explain it.]

Buffy... I can't really expect you to understand all this, 'cause you've never been where I've been, but being immortal... It was everything to me, even when I hated it, even when all I wanted was to die. It was a part of me that I never asked for and that I never wanted to use.

But the only thing scarier than being immortal is being immortal and shackled. I already had one choice taken away from me. No matter what I did, I'd always have my freedom.

I didn't know what I was doing when I made that deal with that rat bastard, but once I knew the truth, I saw myself in Anderson- a version of me who chose to be immortal in whatever way he was... who fucking let himself be shackled to Iscariot and liked it. And I knew if I slipped up, they could do that to me, too. And I'd be worse.

[slay]

[ Buffy listens steadily, and thought he's right that she can't empathize, she does appear to sympathize. She doesn't look surprised in any particular way, exactly, but rather seems to easily accept these sentiments. Perhaps the distance makes it easier, and knowing Anderson is dead and no longer a threat.

When Des finishes, she nods, reaching out to gently rub his upper arm with a supportive smile that's too weak to last. ]

You could never be like Anderson. He was a monster. A zealot. And he chose to become that way. Even if he'd forced it on you, that'd never really be you. [ She drops her hand. ] But ... It's good to know you'd never seek something like that out. You really wouldn't take it? If it was offered, you wouldn't choose to be immortal again? Like you said, it was such a huge part of you.

[nothingsodivine]

Not like that. Not when I'd have to pay for it.

[he shrugs.] I wasted my life trying to figure out how to undo that curse. I'm not gonna waste more of it trying to get it back.

[slay]

Took you how many centuries to gather that wisdom?

[ The jibe serves to drain some of the somberness out of their conversation's mood. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[That gets a laugh out of him.] Too many. Turns out you can turn a stubborn old dog new tricks.

[slay]

And I'm sure Zarad's been teaching you plenty in New York since you've been gone?

[nothingsodivine]

[Catching her drift, he snickers, nonplussed when she discusses HIS sex life.] The bastard's like an encyclopedia, but I do actually get out of bed sometimes.

[slay]

Oh, you're allowed to do that? I thought you were sitting pretty as his kept ... man. Boytoy. Whatever word you want to go with.

[nothingsodivine]

You severely underestimate who wears the pants in this relationship.

[slay]

Isn't saying it that way not politically correct anymore? I thought there didn't have to be a guy and a girl.

[nothingsodivine]

[snort] You're full of it. C'mere. [he nods towards the door.] I wanna show you something.

[slay]

I just want it on the record that I'm not loving that segue. [ But as she makes that clear, she heads for the door. ]

[nothingsodivine]

Yeah, well, you're the one who started us on the topic. [he does not care, buffster. and off he starts towards the training room.] So what's the one thing you've been telling me to do for ages that I swore up and down I wasn't gonna do? And don't say "join the Knights." The other thing.

[slay]

[ She rolled a low wisdom check so we're going to handwave some other off-screen conversation that she's now thinking of about sex things. God only knows. ]

Oh, I don't — I didn't actually ... need the details on that. But I'm happy it's working for you.

[nothingsodivine]

[Oh my god.] Blondie, you really need to get laid. [OH LOOK TRAINING ROOM. He probably spent a good chunk of the time they were walking to it just staring at her, horrified.] I believe you're one of the people who keeps dismissing my choice of weapons.

[slay]

You mean the, like, six-round revolver you carry and your left fist? I'm not sure either of those qualifies as a weapon.

[nothingsodivine]

Your fist qualifies as a weapon. [you and your... magical super strength powers, but the pout doesn't last long as he slides on over to the rack of practice weapons and selects something suitably sword-like.] Second of all, the Le Mat has nine rounds.

[He points the sword in her direction.] And third of all? [Des folds his right hand behind his back, bracing his feet, and then swings the sword in a series of extremely dexterous motions, attacking invisible enemies left and right, using his natural speed to his advantage. Since he's not actually attacking anything, it's more showy, but he's not bad at all.]

[slay]

[ Buffy's eyebrows raise steadily like ???? what are you doing ??? But she doesn't step back as he starts swinging, which at least gives him a little credit. ]

You know the point is to stick the pointy end in the bad guy, right? Not make a soufflé.

[ Laughing, she approaches, holding her hand out for the sword. ]

I'm kidding. It's good. [ She smiles up at him fondly. ] Here. You'll get more force to your jabs if you hold it like this.