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

[shootfirst]

♬ 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.

Comments

[graveflowers]

You already know the only one I've got. [ SO THERE, MYRI. she's only got one secret and it's already out. ]

[witchwoman]

Well, I don't keep anything from you, so I doubt we'll have much 'girl talk' to share. [Not that it's a bad thing. She's never going to complain about being open with Vi.]

How are things with Luthir?

[graveflowers]

[ annnnnnnnnnnd cue blushing. ] He's perfect. Still jealous of his perfect hair, but he's just... [ happiest sigh. it's probably hella easy for myri to feel the love just radiating off of vi. ]

[witchwoman]

[Vi's reaction is just infectious and Myri finds herself giggling a little.]

Good. I'm glad to see you happy.

[graveflowers]

[ she grins. ] I am, which is weird because, you know, aside from my friends life kind of sucks a lot.

[witchwoman]

Happiness is funny like that. We find it in the strangest places... and in the strangest times.

[graveflowers]

You sound like Dumbledore. Have you been sneaking into my and Finnick's Harry Potter nights? [ she's teasing... OR IS SHE? no she is. ]. Hey Myri, can I ask you something?

[witchwoman]

[She just laughs and shakes her head at the Harry Potter comment.]

Of course. Anything.

[graveflowers]

Have you heard of someone... spontaneously healing when it's not a power they've ever had? [ you know, like she randomly did. ]

[witchwoman]

I... don't know. [Veil memories make it hard.] Not that I remember, but I also don't know just how I discovered my own abilities. I was very young when Magretha started teaching me. Perhaps my own gifts simply appeared one day?

[She tilts her head.] You had no idea you could do that, did you?

[graveflowers]

[ her shoulders slump a little because myri having all the answers would have been nice. ]

Nope. And I've never heard of one of my mother's children being able to either, healing isn't in her repertoire. Flowers and childbirth and music and being a bitch is pretty much her wheelhouse.

[witchwoman]

Well, maybe it doesn't exactly come from her. The last I checked, you weren't just your mother's daughter. You were a person all your own. A wonderful person, too. So maybe it isn't something your mother could do, but you can. And I think that's beautiful.

[graveflowers]

[ she makes a little face because she's been her mother's daughter for so long and she's the only parent that vi can remember, but myri is so genuinely earnest, she can't help agreeing slightly. its just so far from her realm of what happens in the world, it's hard to reconcile as something she can do. ]

And by beautiful you mean scary as fuck. What if I did it wrong? And hurt you?

[witchwoman]

You wouldn't hurt me. [Not on purpose. Myri knows that's not how healing magic works. There's an instinct to it. Or at least that's how HERS works.]

What did it feel like. Maybe if you understand it, you'll be more comfortable with it.

[graveflowers]

I don't know, it felt like... Like I wanted to help you, I can't stand seeing you in pain and it just happened, when I touched you. [ a beat. ] I've done it before, with tree people, dryads, but not actual people. Which is racist I guess, saying they're not people too... But, you know what I mean.

[witchwoman]

Magic is... Well, I'm certainly no expert. I never studied to be a magician. But I've found that it changes with you, grows and learns as you do. So perhaps the gifts you inherited from your mother have changed because of your time here with us. Your family has changed, so why shouldn't your gifts?

[graveflowers]

Because its just so... out of the blue. I'm a plant person, I do nature things, people are difficult. [ she focuses on myri's nails for a moment, so she can figure out how to word. ] If I could suddenly, I don't know, grow plants out of cement, that would make sense to me, I could see my powers progressing like that, or if I could charm vines with music, I don't know. But healing... People depend on that. [ she doesn't say anything else but it's largely implied she doesn't think people should depend on her for something like that. ]

[witchwoman]

[Myri's smile is sad as she watches Vi focus so intently on her nails.]

Well, I for one am thrilled to have someone help me keep everyone in one piece. They're always finding trouble. [lol as if these two stay out of the trouble at all.]

[graveflowers]

But what if I can't? What if it was just you? [ look at her ignoring what she did for buffy to make a point about how horrifyingly low her self-worth is at the moment because her nightmares are pm hell. ] What if its Finnick next time and I can't do it?

[witchwoman]

Then you and the others will find another way to bring him home to me. [Her unwavering faith is probably annoying.] I've given up on the notion that I can be everywhere at once. Our group is too large. We split up and the ones who aren't with me could be injured. I can't stop that. Before we knew what you could do? It never stopped us from dividing up, did it?

So all I want to ask you is- but what if you can? What if you can keep them safe.. your friends, your family? Isn't that worth a bit of uncertainty?

[graveflowers]

[ it's almost hysterical, in a way that is almost entire without humor, that myri prefaced it with "what if you can keep them safe" because those were vi's words almost exactly when she was talking to des about going to blade and making a deal with the nightmare lord. if she could keep them safe there is nothing she won't do. and both options came with that horrible and utter lack of certainty that its going to do more harm than good.

she doesn't have that neverending hope and faith myri seems to have taken stock in. she has neverending fear and helplessness, exacerbated by her inability to do anything useful around the hotel and the nightmares that won't quit. "what if i can't?" is always there at the back of her mind, like a reminder. all the people she couldn't keep safe playing over and over in her head, every night, a horrifying reenactment of every death she couldn't stop, jade at the end like the star on a christmas tree. ]

I don't know.

[witchwoman]

Well, I do. [She's stubborn in how much she believes in you, damnit.] And if it came down to it, you would save him. Finnick. Or any of them, really. They might be coughing up flower petals after... but they'd be alive. [:)]

[graveflowers]

[ that makes her laugh, because its completely absurd and she shakes her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. damn it, myri, you made her cry. ] Okay, boss. You got it.

[witchwoman]

[She would try to wipe those tears away but her hand has wet nail polish on it. That would end badly. At least there was a laugh!]

Good. Now, I think we need a new topic. Otherwise, I can only assume girl talk is very depressing.

[graveflowers]

It might be. Um... how's you and the fish? [ there, that is girly. and myri's probably heard vi call finnick that enough to know what she means. ]