chapter five ♔ it'll be a day like this one when the sky falls down

[eldritchweaver]

the blues - switchfoot

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || Failboat returns from the disaster in LA as the Knighthood goes on lockdown
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

Hasmed's announcement does not brook any rebuttal: all Knights are recalled to the Castle, where they must remain until the Section Heads and Jack Chessing have spoken about the events in Los Angeles that have left the Knighthood without their usual leader.  

The entire Los Angeles area is now covered with a dark miasma that has interfered with any signals that might be sent out from phones, etc., leaving the whole world wondering what exactly is happening down there.  Final images showed horrendous monsters, a panic of citizens, looting and violence from humans and Shadowkind alike.  

Hasmed has warned of extra magical wards on the castle, and anyone arriving will immediately take notice of one very prominent one: above the entire roof of the excessively large building hovers a black and red sigil in the air, a pentagram in a circle surrounded by runes or words in an unknown language, stretching for miles.  

[ This is the social log for post-LA lockdown.  Failboat must complete the top log before being allowed to tag outside of it. ]

Comments

[pathology]

Uh, tell that to all those melted people in LA!!! I hate to tell you but in rock-paper-scissors-gun-lava, lava beats everything!

[beatupgrass]

That were in LA. Do you think it's easy to get that much lava into a place subtlety? Best part of lockdown is we don't go nowhere we can get killed, we don't get killed. Also the most boring part.

[pathology]

Try magic. ... But at least lava moves slow, so we could probably outrun it. [she huffs again, frustrated and annoyed.] I know. I know this is ... safest or whatever, but doesn't it feel weird? Everything feels weird now.

[beatupgrass]

Everything in the entire world has felt weird for me, since that Trump dude got elected. This is just taking it up a notch.

But the boss man not bein' around and everyone scrambling to take his place is a little sick. And I'm not sure how I feel about them benching those guys.

[They did kinda... rescue him from Andres, even if he thinks they're psychopaths.]

[pathology]

Right? We're not even in America, and it's just ... eugh. It's bullshit. Just like this.

With that team, though ... I don't know. I did a mission with them once, right? And like, I could see it. Benching them. It's like, me and Felicity were doing our own thing, getting shit done, right, and then the other people with us fucked shit up. And then like, everything went sideways. I get the impression that they're always sort of like that. They don't listen and do whatever they want and then get surprised when they're fucked.

[beatupgrass]

Oh man. No, look. [Now he remembers something, and this rant is a long time coming.] One of them literally wanted to go back to the place I frickin' escaped from back when we were on Andres. Like... We just killed a d'ast Beholder, and there's more of them, and I'm beat to shit 'cause I've been tortured for months straight, and just finally got away, and they're like, "No we need to go back there to see if..." I don't even know what their logic was. I didn't care either! Still don't.

I mean luckily they talked the idiot out of it, but it was still not a great moment to find out the people who might be able to get me off that death trap were overzealous morons.

[pathology]

I guess Wynn can't pick all winners all the time. Or ... couldn't. Maybe still can't. God, I hope he's not dead. Because, this whole thing? I'm not feeling it. It's like the part of Harry Potter when Dumbledore dies and then Snape takes over Hogwarts and then the dementors come-- we're totally in Harry Potter right now, oh shit. Have you watched that shit?

[she doesn't expect him to read, she's not insane, ok]

[beatupgrass]

[He has not watched Harry Potter. Does England even get Freeform where Harry Potter weekends happen for every possible holiday?? The opportunity has not come up.]

If I say no, are you gonna make me watch that shit?

[pathology]

No. It's like eight movies and it takes like five before they get good. I don't even like it that much. But still, very appropriate for our lives right now. It's... uh, no, you know, it's like Orange is the New Black when corporate takes over the prison and makes it worse.

[beatupgrass]

Oh yeah, I remember that. That was bullshit.

[he huffs] And it ain't like we got anywhere else to go- well, you do, but I sure as hell don't.

[pathology]

[she shrugs.]

I could go back to Philly, I guess. Live with my parents. You can totally come, too, by the way. But like, even if I did... I wouldn't be in training hell here, but it wouldn't make anything suck any less.

[beatupgrass]

It wouldn't, and living with an entire family of Snakebloods also sounds like it sucks. No offense.

[But he is a tiny furry mammal and excessive amounts of reptiles make him antsy.]

[pathology]

[she squints at him for a second in mock-offense, but then snorts a laugh.] They're not great, but they could be worse. My parents are like, never home. They're antique dealers, so they're always off curating their collection. And like, taking vacations to wherever. Then there's my little brother, Gunther, but he like never leaves his room. All he cares about are his dumb video games. The Snakeblood thing doesn't really come into it unless my parents are home and throwing parties with other rich Snakebloods so they can all talk shit.

[beatupgrass]

And yet none of that really inspires me to go home with you. Sorry, Astrid, but this stupid castle's the closest thing I've had to real home since I came through the d'ast Veil. And if you took me, you'd have to take Groot and Drax.

...And Quill, but we'd have to kidnap him.

[pathology]

Yeah, no, I know what you mean. This is better than home, and I'm not taking your whole motley crew back to Philly. Peter could come, though. [~dreamy sigh~] We went on a date awhile ago, that was fun.

[beatupgrass]

I'm aware, and it's still weird.

[you humanoids and your biological imperatives. PAH!]

[pathology]

[she elbows him like OMG ROCKET] He told you?! Did he say anything good about me?

[liam? liam who????]

[beatupgrass]

No, he didn't tell me. [He just KNOWS THINGS, ASTRID.] Sometimes we like to know what he's up to- see if anything's triggering any of his old memories.

[we being... him, Drax, and Groot. and it's entirely on Rocket's suggestion.]

[pathology]

Ummmm, so, what, you're spying on him? Were you spying on us?

[beatupgrass]

No! I was spying on Quill. I just happened to see you two together once. And it was only just long enough to think it was weird. People I know don't need to date each other.

[pathology]

We aren't dating, we went on a date. Totally different thing. And why don't we need to date each other?

[beatupgrass]

Because it throws a social circle off-balance!

[HAVEN'T YOU WATCHED THE LION KING???]

[pathology]

Oh my god Rocket! We went on like, one date and made out once! Your social circle is fine. I'm in it to win it with someone else.

[beatupgrass]

[he breathes a sigh of relief.] Uh-huh. Well, good luck with that- maybe you'll have time between training to go on dates to that Starbucks we don't have.

[pathology]

[GROANS DRAMATICALLY] Don't remind me about Starbucks!!!