open ♔ castle farewell socialization

[sirsolace]

home - machine gun kelly, x ambassadors, bebe rexha

WHO || The Knights [ota!]
WHAT || The Knights prepare to depart for America
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this is announced, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

The acting Heads of the Knighthood - Hasmed and Solace - have made a decision that is not easy for many.  Given the terrible state of everything happening in America, they've decided to relocate operations entirely to the States, and have secured a facility near Las Vegas.  It is certainly possible, with the grim missions that lie before them, that many, or all, of the Knights may never return.  Reactions to the announcement are certain to be strong, but it's time to choose what they will bring with them to their new life - and for some, to decide if it's a journey they can bring themselves to take.

[ This is the social log for anything before the Knights relocate to Las Vegas ]

Comments

[hacker]

Then don't sign up for the Knighthood. Sign up with SHIELD.

[ He won't be the first criminal in their ranks. ]

[ambitionist]

[ he leans back against the couch. this is his Considering face. when you're a survivalist but you were also kind of sold on having a coffee shop au with your girlfriend if everyone only had a few months left to live anyway. it's gonna take a lot for him to leave his coffee shop au. ]

Gonna need a better sales pitch than that.

[hacker]

SHIELD probably has information on your old mob buddies. We could protect you from whatever hit they probably want to put on you. We could probably even help you take them down, if we live long enough.

[ambitionist]

[ he squints a little. the gears are turning. imagine a world where the mob wasn't after him and he could just go back to new york and live a normal fuckin life?? ? ?

well, that was impossible, probably. normal wasn't a thing within the realm of possibility for him anymore. one doesn't simply retire from weird ass organizations like this. and it was all contingent on staying alive. but still. it would be nice to be able to go home, even if just for a little while. not constantly look over his shoulder. he was so busy looking for witness protection he never considered the idea of not needing protection in the first place. 🐸 ]

Can you actually tell me about SHIELD? I want the mission statement, the whole thing. I'm not signing up for a pyramid scheme.

[ it's teasing — he does not actually think shield is a pyramid scheme. ]

[hacker]

Well, if I recruit you, and you recruit two more agents ...

[ She affixes him with a look. Skye holds up her hands. ]

What do you want to hear? We're an ex-government organization that's dedicated to the protection and preservation of the Earth from Shadowkind and non-terrestrial threats. Just like the Knighthood. It also means, more often than not, intervening on behalf of Shadowkind themselves. Most threats are just ... people who need help.

When SHIELD went bad it was because it had been sabotaged from the inside. Corrupted. So we're off-grid now, but all those things in the papers about us, they were never true. The real SHIELD isn't like that.

[ambitionist]

[ he makes a look back. it's a siblings mood. ]

That. [ he sighs, begrudging. can't even take a break to enjoy his coffee shop au for one whole day. just when he thought he was out they keep pulling him back in, etc. ]

So, all right. Okay. Let's say I agree to this. Then what? Where do I go? What happens?

[hacker]

Well, it used to be you'd go to the Academy, but ... the Hub's kind of ... gone.

[ RIP. ]

So, uh, you come with me, I guess, and you meet the boss. Base location's a secret, though. I can't just tell you.

[ambitionist]

[ makes sense. he did have to travel in a car blindfolded to get to the castle. it's like all these organizations are literally exactly the same. it's like shopping at target instead of walmart only target is buying out walmart too so what's the point of anything. ]

Do I get a day or two? I've got loose ends to tie up.

[ he kind of glances around like ... u know... telling my girlfriend goodbye. and not mysteriously ghosting out of her apartment while she went out for starbucks. ]

[hacker]

Are you—

[ Skye looks around. ]

... Are you living with someone?

[ Like, knowing this was someone else's apartment and acknowledging that it is a meaningful relationship that he has to put on hold are two different things. ]

[ambitionist]

[ flatly: ] No, I killed the person who used to live here. This is my apartment now. If I don't get rid of the body soon, the neighbors will notice the smell. [ he waits a full beat before ] What do you think?

[hacker]

There's a difference between staying over and moving in.

[ She gets up off the couch and decides to start nosing around, really looking at the place. ]

I didn't even know you were seeing anyone.

[ambitionist]

Yeah, well, unlike most of our esteemed colleagues, I like to keep my work and my personal life separate. [ he gets up with her, possibly to preempt any nosing? but he doesn't actually move. ] Don't touch anything. I don't even wanna touch anything.

[hacker]

Is he a witch or a thirteen-year-old with a platinum Hot Topic credit card?

[ She's definitely nosing, but not touching. ]

I don't even know your type beyond just ... 'Peter.'

[ambitionist]

She. And an alchemist, but the Hot Topic aesthetic is kind of her thing.

[ he says it with fondness. gay. ]

"My type" is a surprisingly broad category.

[hacker]

Careful. You'll hurt my feelings.

[ But she's heading into the kitchen now that he dropped 'alchemist.' ]

[ambitionist]

[ he follows after her, now with more low-key "please don't touch any of piffy's stuff jesus fuckin christ" energy. ]

What, feeling left out?

[hacker]

You're the one saying everyone's your type.

[ Those are the facts. She inventories the ingredients she can see and opens some cabinets and the fridge. ]

[ambitionist]

You could be my — hey, I just said don't touch anything! [ he tries to get between her and the fridge. a valiant effort. what a nerd. she'll never be his type at this rate 🤷 ]

[hacker]

What, did she spell the fridge door?

[ She looks dismissive. ]

Pretty sure nothing's going to explode if I open it and take a look inside.

[ambitionist]

That we know of. [ the raised eyebrows though. ]

Look, stop snooping around. We can talk about this later. Give me a couple days, and then ... I don't know. You can come back and pick me up.

[ you may think he's trying to rush her out the door, but consider: he does not want skye and piffy to exist in the same room. despite piffy being vaguely knight-aligned, she's still not entrenched in this nonsense.

just kidding, the most important thing is that if they exist together in the same space, they might combine forces to dunk on him. ]

[hacker]

Yeah, I get it.

[ Infringing on fuckfest 2018. She backs off, holds her hands up. ]

Give me a call when you're ready. I'll talk to the Director.

[ambitionist]

[ mm this sure does. feel weird. he's still trying compartmentalize a lot of emotions he doesn't really know what to do with. why do the hard labor of thinking about how your friend was a lie and she was acting like your friend when she was really only there to take notes for her secret organization when you could repress that betrayal until you die and never think about it again? it's a drake saying no / drake saying yes meme.

and yet, here he is, hopscotching over to her shady organization. he's not dumb enough to think that nobody will ever see him to wonder about it again, especially if they're consolidating. lying about it would be a waste of time.

the simple truth of it was that he had a price and she named it. business. we're all transactional here. ]

Sounds good. I will. [ when you could say thank you, but you're bad at this so you just make a soft face then say ] C'mon, get outta here.

[hacker]

Yeah, yeah.

[ She's out. At the very least, she has secured Alex to the Dark Side. That means he can't be mad anymore. Great. All of this is going great. She's got Sam. She's got Alex. Everyone else will obviously super duper come around. ]

[panaceum]

[ annnnd soon thereafter she comes in balancing a tray with two starbucks orders, dumping her keys in a little bowl by the door and closing the door with a hip ] I know, I'm a fucking sell out. Grande's yours, if you want it.

[ambitionist]

[ hoo boy. he had a very short amount to time to process his feelings about not getting to live his coffee shop au after all, and now the coffee shop au has come to him. with coffee. the sponsor of coffee shop aus everywhere, realistically.
]

I'll take it. [ is he a little bit of a coffee snob? yes, but he would never turn down free coffee. ] Hey, uh, not trying to freak you out, but we need to talk.

[ there's literally no good way to say "we need to talk." ]