knightsoflegend | chicago ♔ but close my eyes for a while | and force from the world a patient smile

Entry tags:

chicago ♔ but close my eyes for a while | and force from the world a patient smile

♬ Evil - Interpol

WHO || Spike, Francesca, Archer, Myri, Finnick, Elena, Buffy, Des, Gar, Mark, Kat, Rafael, Isabella, Jaka, Burt, Violet, Luthir, Val'drin, ??[Closed]
WHAT || The Knights prepare for the trial of Rafael Giovanni and face a few revelations along the way
WHERE || Various locations, Chicago
WHEN || July 17th - November 21st [Back AND Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order!!

The trial of Rafael Giovanni looms on the horizon, as summer gives way to fall, the chill in the air creating a definite atmosphere of foreboding as the date grows closer. It's not merely Rafael's freedom on the line after all - but also Des', thanks to the deal he struck with Iscariot. While Francesca and Val'drin work to uncover the secret of the mysterious hourglass artifact, lawyer Jaka Teken'Duis uses his ... unique legal powers to work towards a "Temporary Insanity" case for Rafael. The Knights, unhappy about the potential ramifications of such a plea, continue to seek any evidence they can to show Rafael was actually innocent, and place conspiracy charges back on Chad Becksworth and his ilk for what transpired. Not everything they learn, however, is what they were hoping to find...

Others wage more personal battles, as the coming autumn signals the encroaching winter, and Luthir and Violet's time draws shorter to find a way to stop her nightmares, lest they kill her. Elena plays a dangerous game, working to uncover more of her nature by training her doppelganger powers - with the enemy.

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in Chicago, immediately following the three mission logs and continuing for four months. This will be the Knight's last time in Chicago before the trial: after which they plan to return to the castle to fully Knight Violet and Dawn and decide where to head next.

Make your own threads, don't fuss about tag order, feel free to threadjack multiple people into one thread for hang-outs, ask me if you want a certain scene with an NPC, etc. forever whatever. There will be a few group scenes, which I'll alert everyone to on Plurk. They may not all be posted immediately, so keep an eye on this post for new threads as time goes by. Please wait to post social threads here until we reach a certain point in the top group thread. I will alert you all when you are free to post.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Des has been quiet this whole time, standing in the back of the room with his arms folded, listening, steadily growing angrier. Shooting Mark's kneecaps out won't bring Jade back. Mark's just an errand boy, not the man he wants, but hearing that Wynn knew about Mark's connections sets him reeling.]

And the son of a bitch wonders why I don't wanna join his team. [He laughs, wheezy and half-mad.] I ain't surprised. You know the reason why Jade liked me more than any of you? It was because I didn't treat her like she was something valuable. Or a piece in whatever the hell this puzzle is. And that's all she's been. [He weaves around everyone, heedless of the drawn weapons, until he puts himself right in Mark's space.] Was her death part of it too, you spineless little marshmallow? Was she supposed to die? Why don't you stop with the can'ts and the wouldn'ts and tell me why? What was so wrong with this picture that you and Wynn and your goddamned family needed her out of it?

[He grabs Mark by the collar suddenly. (intimidate 31)] Tell me.

[Spike probably should stop Des. This decision clearly wasn't an easy one on Mark, and though Spike doesn't have a bloody clue what it's like having family to worry about, he imagines it complicates things a lot. But they could have found a way around it if they'd had some bloody clue of what was going on. At the very least, Jade could have worn a bulletproof vest under her dress.]

He's a useless bloody coward with a habit of getting his teammates hurt. That's why he didn't come to us. That's why he just let the wanker in.

[ gave you all - mumford and sons

with a mighty will save of six, mark flinches under des' grip, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threaten to form. he can't look at des and he stammers as he says: ] T-that's not how it worked. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I didn't know. I told you, my family's not behind this, the bad guys are in a p-position to hurt them, that's what Wynn knew. He doesn't know I -- he doesn't know they contacted me that night. J-just that I have a stake in all this.

I swear, they didn't ask until we were already there. I didn't have time to think long and hard on it or what it meant. All they told me was I had to let a man through a door, that's it, and if I didn't do it-- if I didn't do it, they'd--

I was wrong, I was terrified, I can't-- [ he picks a new word, remembering des' warning ] I didn't know what to do. I didn't think they'd try to kill her. We were all there, I thought--

I thought we could stop one guy from taking her.

Edited 2013-11-06 11:46 (UTC)

This isn't Mark's fault. I know we all want someone easy to blame, but he didn't do this. They did, and no one except him had to make that kind of decision. You can think it was cowardly all you want, but it was his family.

We knew Jade was in danger. We should have been able to protect her.

[They were all responsible for her safety, and while Mark had certainly made it harder, she had sympathy for his position.]

If it had been my family in danger, or someone I loved, I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing.

[That didn't make it right or brave, but it was an impossible decision to make.]

[The explanation makes Myri breathe easier. She had imagined that Mark and that man were somehow related, that this was only going to complicate things further. It did, of course, but in a way that was easier to understand.]

None of us can say with certainty what we would have done, if the right threat was placed before us. [She looks at the group around her. Nearly any of them would have been enough to make her do just about any task to keep them safe.]

But you could have tried to tell us, Mark. At least enough to know what we were getting ourselves into... [She hesitates, because secrets are kept sometimes to keep others safe, aren't they? Even with all their revelations, most of them came too late. They were after thoughts by then.]

We could have gotten her out. [Des releases Mark.] I wouldn't have left her.

[Because it's as much his fault- if he had stayed with her. If he had stayed backstage instead of going to the bar, because he was a heartbroken fool...]

I hope it was worth it.

You have to go.

[ buffy pipes up after some silence, not looking directly at them at first but steadily raising her gaze. she looks pointedly at mark, jaw tight. she doesn't like having to say this, doesn't like that he's broken their trust at all, but from where she's standing, it's the only way of making sure it doesn't happen again. ]

As long as they can get at your family, we can't trust you. [ her gaze flickers around the room, hesitating meaningfully on elena and anyone else who's being overly sympathetic right now. ] And anyone else who thinks they'd do the same, well you should leave now too, because we all signed up for this knowing that we'd be doing what was right as personal risk, that there might be a cost.

Anyone who they can give leverage over is a weak link we can't afford right now. They are already winning. We don't have time to worry about attacks from within.

[ she nods her head, apologetic but unrelenting. this is the only way. she doesn't have time to spare feelings or be gentle - people are dying, and it could have been prevented. ]

You need to leave. Get on a plane today, and go back to England, because you're only compromising this mission.

[ nat 20 diplomacy check ... ]

Edited 2013-11-06 20:04 (UTC)

I see your point, Buffy, but unless you literally are so heartless that you would watch anyone you care about die in front of you just for the sake of the mission, then you have no right to say that.

[Something has to be done about Mark, it's true, but to be so cold and black and white about it isn't fair to the rest of them.]

Wynn let him stay here with us. I think his authority is higher than yours.

[ it's not fair.

it's beyond not fair.

but neither is life and buffy is right. vi knows how far she would go for those she considers her family, but she also knows 90% of those people are in the room with her and the other bits are back at the castle, safe. she doesn't have to make difficult decisions like mark because she is lucky enough to be surrounded by her family. they're in danger all the time, granted, but in ways she doesn't have to grapple with.

she finally moves forward, stepping around the broken bits of her bowl. she looks over at myri, because she isn't stupid enough to think myri won't take buffy's words to heart. ] Elena's right. They have leverage over all of us already, what wouldn't we do for each other?

[ not that she thinks most people can trust her anyway with her godly admirer, but still. ]

[ rafael's jaw is locked tight with anger, and his fist is balled up tightly at his side. when he speaks, his tone is ice cold, not at all apologetic. ]

Any one of us should prefer that someone would let us die rather than compromise this fight. We have all staked our lives on believing that what we do is right. We cannot afford weakness. Buffy is right, in many ways. Mark could have said something - anything - trusted us to keep them from ever learning it was because he gave us warning. Instead, he allowed his fear to control him, allowed them to dictate the rules of the games, and keep him from seeing any other way to proceed. To win this war, we have to make hard decisions, si, and I do not mean forsaking compassion.

We cannot afford fear. Fear blinds a man, makes him an easy target.

[Des sets his jaw, realizing he doesn't have much of a horse in this race. He's here for efficiency in getting the Talisman. He was here because Jade wanted him to be. He doesn't owe anyone anything and they don't owe him. The only thing he cares about anymore is breaking his curse.

He prods Mark in the chest with a finger.]

You people stick your necks out on the line every damn day. You take risks. I don't even work for you and it's my neck on the chopping block if Rafael goes to jail. You could go on with your merry lives like none of it mattered, because none of you have to care about him. If a sorry son of a bitch like me could do that, then why the hell couldn't you find a way to protect your other family?

[He shoves his way through the assembled group and sulks back to Rafael and Isabella's corner. Aka the corner of people who don't even go here, even if... Rafael is totally committed to sparkle motion.]

[ the hardest thing about all of this is that buffy has to accept that while she'd do anything to protect the people she cares about, the people in this room, what they're dealing with is bigger than any one person's life. what they're dealing with goes further than that, and if they don't stop it, there's a good chance other, innocent people are going to die.

the involvement of iscariot, des' pseudo-god, the spider queen and whoever the hell else from the drow corner, and the grays makes that all too clear. these are not regular demons and monsters they're dealing with, or even people and their stupid shadow kind politics. this is big. bigger than any one of them, and as hard as it is to accept, buffy knows that it means making the hard calls - and, yeah, letting someone die if it means keeping their eyes on the mission.

it cuts her deep that elena would throw down heartless over that - pretend like this somehow isn't affecting buffy emotionally, too, like she doesn't hold some sympathy for what mark is feeling. but she has her priorities, and she has her mission, and it's about protecting something greater than just one person's life. ]

Wynn isn't here. And if he knew what we knew, he might just change his mind about whether or not Mark belongs on this mission. [ she shakes her head, unrelenting, at elena, and turns her attention back to mark. this isn't about who wants to leap to his defense and argue about what should happen, it's about what choice he's going to make now. ] But the question is whether he's going to make us call Wynn or if he's going to do what he knows is right and take himself out of this situation, before he puts all our lives in jeopardy because he's afraid.

This isn't about authority, it's about what's right. [ at that, there's a grateful look at rafael. she's also feeling pretty damn glad to have des in her corner as well, but he seems a bit busy to process her look of gratitude. it's hard to be the only one setting her personal feelings aside to think about what's best for the mission, so having support from people that she loves (in two very different ways …) makes all the difference. ]

In case any of you forgot, someone that we care about did die. [ she throws a harsh look at vi, because it's bothered her for a while. vi was so damn broken up about jade's death despite not knowing her half as long as the rest of them had, and now all those tears and all that sister solidarity had dried up into defense of the guy who'd been singularly responsible for her death. ] Not only that, but the one person who could have been the key to figuring all of this out. And it happened because we let them get to us, because they got the chance to manipulate one of our own.

Rafael's right. This is a war, - they've made it one - and if we want to get on their level, we have to realize that this isn't just about us. If we want to protect each other, and our loved ones, we do it by fighting. By holding it together and getting this done. Because until we end this, nobody's safe.

[finnick speaks up from his corner at the bar, sounding a little ornery. you might think it's because he's drunk, but … no, he's really just ornery. and he is not here for this tbh.]

When did serving justice become the top priority of the mission? And who are you [he waves his hand over at buffy just in case it wasn't completely clear who he was talking to] to play judge, jury, and executioner? Let's promote Buffy to team leader, so she can cull away anyone who disagrees with her morals.

[ok ok time to … stop putting how he feels about buffy in the book.] Mark didn't make the best choice, but he was cornered into a situation where he didn't feel that he had any other. I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same. [actually he knows he would have done the same. whoopsies.] Should I be joining him on the plane?

Sounds like you should be, mate. [spike will surprise no one by backing Buffy's call. This mission has rapidly gone downhill and she's the only one who seems to be acting like it's not amateur hour anymore.]

Remember when we all thought Wynn wanted to fire us? All those arguments we made about why we should stay? [He shakes his head.] It's not just about one wrong bloody call. It's making that call and then not coming to the team with it. It's all these bloody secrets. We're together in this, or we'll fail. And if you can't take that, then you really should bugger off to the nice, safe castle.

So, we're supposed to be able to just turn off our fear?

[This is an impossible thing. Working through fear and still doing what needed to be done was one thing, but turning it off was another. And not everyone was capable of doing it in every circumstance.]

No single person in this room can decide what's right. Innocent people would have died if Mark hadn't done what he did. Innocent people died either way. No one gets to decide that one is more important than the other.

[In other words, people are going to die. Everything ever is awful.]

Mark should have told us. We all agree on that. We could have helped him. But it happened, and laying all the blame on Mark and saying that those of us with feelings should leave isn't going to bring anyone back.

[ Isabella catches that little approving moment between Buffy and raf and looks like she's brimming over with rage. She turns to Rafael, jaw quivering angrily as she harshly says: ]

I cannot believe I have to remind you of how much it has cost you to put some... mission first all your life.

She hated this side of you. Have you learned nothing even after losing her again? [ Rafael looks stricken by the jab, but isa doesn't give him a chance to reply, turning to dramatically flounce out the hotel room door instead. The slamming sound causes gars last frazzled nerve to break and she nearly jumps out of her seat with the jolt. ]

[ Kat, who has gone from looking angry to just kind of defeated and jaded ever since marks explanation, folds her arms and speaks up in the wake of the silence post door slam. ] You know who is team leader? Gar. If anyone's gonna make a call or throw around ultimatums, pretty sure it should be her.

[ to be honest, gar does not look all too pleased to be handed the ol responsibility baton, but she forces herself to speak up anyway. ] No one's getting sent home against their will. Rafael, beg pardon, but you're wrong - we are not... soldiers in a war fighting as Wynn's... army. Wynn has told me as much himself on multiple occasions, when I first joined the knights and thought I was hardly knightly material. He values each one of us for the humanity we bring to these problems, the variety of responses that help us... Well theoretically to strike a balance between the two extremes we're arguing right now.

[ to mark: ] But they're right in that you do have a choice right now. Wynn may decide to pull you away from us either way, but I want to hear your opinion.

Please.

[♬ runaway - linkin park

mark's actually been effectively frozen as if he'd just been punched in the gut ever since des' why the hell couldn't you find a way to protect your other family? jab. all color has drained out of his face, and the best he can manage is to lift his head enough to dazedly look across them all as they argue rapidly about his fate. he looks as if he's in physical pain, on the edge of a complete meltdown, and he buries his face in his palms just as tears overflow. his reply is muffled, but not indiscernible. ]

I wanted... [ there's a strangled sob of a breath ] I wanted a chance to ... t-to make up for what I'd done... especially to Rafael and Des. I thought helping with the trial could-- [ he lets out an almost inhuman moan, as if realizing the futility behind the symbolism ] I know what I did was wrong, I know I let being... being afraid get the best of me, but I won't make that decision again. [ he finally lifts his eyes, red-rimmed and pathetic looking ] You're as much my family, and I hurt all of you. I don't know how any of you could look me in the face anymore.

[ he casts an apologetic look at gar, who looks crestfallen, and then pushes himself to a wobbly standing, moving towards the door. ] I don't deserve to be here.

Buffy's right.

[ being right is incredibly hard sometimes, particularly when it's because you did the hard thing and set your own feelings aside to be rational. because as soon as it happens, the feelings come rushing back but you're not allowed to let them flood in quite yet.

that's how buffy feels, anyway. she deflates considerably as mark moves past her for the door, and she doesn't turn back to look at him. her eyes shut and she tilts her head downward, folding her arms over her chest.

it's hard. he's been her friend for more than a year and a half now and just like that ... but it's the right decision, as far as buffy is concerned. if he's going to have such a conflict of interest that it'll get in the way of the mission and put other people working it at risk, then this is what has to happen. he has to be removed from the situation. it's her need to protect the people on this mission, and see it through the motivates her to that belief.

so, she keeps her mouth shut out of respect for mark and their history, and ignores the snide remarks in her direction. she steps forward to reach out to des quietly, one hand moving to touch the back of his elbow in a barely-there gesture of reassurance. after all, jade had meant far more to him, and he's been there with them pretty much since the start. ]

[There are moments when Myrilandel wishes she wasn't an empath. Still standing beside Kat, Myri finds herself surrounded by people she loves so deeply and feeling like she's tearing in half from the impact of their escalating emotions. To her, it feels like the air has been yanked from the room, leaving her unable to move or speak. Her eyes dart to each of them as they speak, the volley of words twisting inside of her.

She fears this is the beginning of the end of them.

Marks sobs grab her attention, and she wants to scream for them to stop- for everyone to shut up and stop for a single moment. It's all happening so fast, too fast. This feels so much to her like the concert, like she's supposed to do something, but she doesn't know what. By now, the group has divided- physically as much as emotionally. There are sides to pick, lines to cross, and all she can do is stand frozen in... fear. Funny how it was the source of all this

Rafael seemed to think it was a weakness, that it needed to be destroyed, that it had no place here. Buffy was in agreement, from what she could tell. But what good was it to fight if you had nothing that you feared losing? Fear had driven her, guided her, moved her from place to place and it brought her here. If she was honest with herself, it was fear that had caused her to follow the voices that urged her to move East, to find a home and a family. And that promise was kept when she joined this group and found these people. Fear had given her everything, in a way.]

Mark... wait. [Her voice is small in comparison to the forceful, impassioned speeches that seemed to come from all sides. She is trying so desperately hard not to cry. She can't make him stay, can't ask him to face this sort of persecution. In realizing that, she doesn't continue to address him, but instead turns to those who would want him gone.]

I would have done the same. [It's hard to keep her voice even when she brings her gaze to Buffy.] If they had you? Or Finnick? Vi or Elena... Any of you? If all I had to do was open a door to keep you safe? I would have done it. [Her teeth clench as tears slip down to her cheeks, pushing forward.] And I would have hated myself for it now and done everything I could to make right what I did wrong.

Perhaps you wouldn't. Perhaps you're better than me for it. Stronger. But if you're right, if this is what it takes to complete this task? If we must sacrifice the ones we love without hesitation? [Her head falls forward, a sob overtaking her. As she struggles to collect her thoughts, she moves towards Mark, reaching out to him and slipping her hand into his. She doesn't excuse his choices, but knows that they were some of the hardest he has likely ever made.]

I cannot continue like this. If this is what we are? Then I'm going with him.

[finnick can actually relate to mark a lot, ok. he's feeling it when he starts to talk. fear got the best of him too, down on the concert floor. he couldn't help but feel that he'd hurt the group in some way by not being able to react properly. and if mark didn't deserve a chance to redeem himself for his mistakes, then why should finnick?

so he stands up and walks over to stand next to myri and mark. (pocketing archer's gun too btw. HE CAN'T TRUST HIM ALONE WITH IT.)]

I'm afraid I'll have to leave as well.

[ Her jaw tightens at the look Buffy gives her, but she dimisses it because, frankly, she doesn't give a shit. She knows Buffy doesn't like her. She doesn't need to defend her feelings or her capability to feel more than one.

Color her completely unsurprised with Myri and Finnick, she's about to do the same thing which is equally unsurprising. Everyone knows by now that she'd go with those two to the ends of the earth. Personally loyalty is her downfall. She lost too many friends in the legion because she put the mission before their lives and she's not doing that anymore. They meant more than the mission, they deserved more. She keeps silent about her nightmares because she doesn't want to put more on people's plates -- almost the exact words Mark said to her. She doesn't want his problems to end how hers might.

She looks at Mark, ignoring everything else for a moment, because his answer could decide for her. ] Mark, your family. Are they still in danger? [ Because if they are, if they're still tied up in this, there is no way in hell she can walk away. ]

[ mark stares down at myri's hand in his, and there's a mingled sense of both disbelief that anyone would take his side on this and also deep and lasting gratitude to everyone who walks over to join him. it's clear from the expression on his face that their support right now is something he is never, ever going to forget. he's still failing at wrestling his tears, but he manages to meet vi's gaze. ]

... It's complicated. But... they still need help, yeah. [ there's a beat, an awkward hesitation ] I know this sounds melodramatic, but... I'm the only one who can help them. And no, I can't explain that, because the more I say ... the more likely it is I won't be able to. I know it's the last thing I deserve, but... [ his eyes hit the floor again, but then stray to myri's hand and he gives it a squeeze ] but just trust me on that.

[ kat whirls around towards the force of solidarity forming up and splays a hand to her side as she asks bluntly (and loudly), incredulity in every inch of her face: ] Are you all smoking crack?!

What the fuck is wrong with you people?!

We are a goddamned team, that's what makes us stronger than them, that's always what's made us stronger than them, that's why we're all still alive despite fucking with these high and mighty assholes for over a year! Who is going to stand here and claim that they haven't made a mistake or kept a secret over that year that hasn't bit us in the ass, because they thought they were ~protecting~ someone, or because they were scared? [ she turns towards buffy, jabbing a finger in the air ] That includes you, Miss Doesn't-Feel-the-Need-To-Mention-Rafael-Kills-People-For-A-Living. Hell, we're all fuck-ups. That's almost our thing, at this point, but you know what? It works for us to be fuck ups. Yeah, we lost a person we were trying to protect, but trying to blame one asshole move on her dying is so fucking stupid I don't even know where to start. We've come this far, and you all think you're gonna just what? Pack up and go home? Make it so she died for nothing?

[ she turns on her heel to face mark, accusation riding high in her tone as she points at him next ] And you! You say you know you screwed up, that you'd never do it again, and you wanted to make up for what you did. Well, guess what? Put up or shut up. You don't get to just say that and then wander off without ever proving you can stick to your word. That's taking the easy way out and that's exactly what got you in this damn mess to start. You don't get to take the easy route and leave us all here to clean up the mess. You're staying, and you're going to prove to us every day that you have a set of balls and that we're the family you claim we are.

Do I make myself clear? [ i guess that'd be more of an intimidate check than a diplomacy ( u n s u r e) intimidate 16... ]

chicago ♔ but close my eyes for a while | and force from the world a patient smile

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)