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.

Threaded | Flat

[ the morgue group made it back a couple hours ago and the marengo team isn't departing until the following day, which means everyone is home when spike completes his nat 20 drive check by spinning into a place out front of the hotel.

the car isn't even stopped before kat clambers out. as soon as they reach the dragon suite floor, she's slamming the hotel room door open. most of the inhabitants are still awake between nightmare-induced insomnia, strange sleep cycles, and having just returned from missions. kat stands in the doorway, shoulders hunched, a murderous rage in her eyes as she scans them all and her eyes light on mark, who's sitting between elena and gar on the couch. she growls out: ] Get the fuck away from him.

[ post revelation, mark steers out of people's way most days, spending a lot of quiet time sifting through legalese out on the balcony. of course, it makes him easy to corner there, for anyone who'd like a word with him in private about what happened. ]

[ the sign on the door says "no boys allowed gtfo" and inside vi and myri have barricaded themselves with the television and food and girly things while vi is attempting, again, to stave off sleep. luthir and finnick are, of course, allowed, (its a sign not the police) but she puts the sign up anyway because... she can and because myri deserves a stereotypical slumber party. so at the moment, the two women are sitting in the middle of vi's bed, while amaranth lazes across all the pillows like its his nest and he is king of the castle. (because he is, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.) they're not really watching the movie on tv, talking instead while vi's steady hand paints myri's fingernails a pretty, glossy... violet.

they were meant to be friends.

her own are peacock blue, but that is because she refuses to have nails that match her name, it is weird so she went with peacock instead. shoving a piece of white pizza in her mouth, she chews for a while before answering myri's question: her favorite movie. ]

Aladdin. [ and if you think she's not about to break into song then you are so wrong. AND YOU BET YOUR ASS SHE SINGS BOTH PARTS. and it doesn't suck much. (perform: sing 15) she might even grab amaranth and dance around the room with him before collapsing back on to the bed. who knows, man, who even knows. ]

[Elena spends a good chuck of time each day sitting on her bed, going over things that she's been learning with her doppel!trainer. It's tiring work, and sometimes boring, but it has been made perfectly clear to her in her own mind that the sooner she can get a handle on all of this, the sooner she can help in a way that no one else can.

It'll be dangerous, but she doesn't care. If she can be the one to gather information or infiltrate and get what they need without anyone else having to stick their neck out? Without anyone else having to die. Without Myri having to use her gift to heal the aftermath? That's all she wants.

Feel free to come in and bother her/bring snacks/drinks/etc.]

[ poor rafael is still mostly apartment-bound because the media starts ramping up on the case the closer it gets. for example, he was on the cover of rolling stone with a great tagline about whether he's innocent, guilty, or a madman, thanks to a certain resident becksworth, and so he spends a depressing amount of time pacing the hotel room looking like a caged animal. he works on music stuff sometimes but he can't do that 24/7, so he's happy to play any of the numerous board games buffy has brought up for him, or to help people with the case wherever he can.

slowly, but surely, he's coming back into being a functional person again, noticeable by those watching him for fear of potential relapsing into suicidal thoughts. he goes from being an almost silent fixture in the suite to an active participant - but there's still a hollowness beneath it all that's hard to ignore. ]

[Myri seems more at ease now that the prophecy is fair game for everyone to know. As much as she believed in the reasoning for keeping it private, not telling her friends had been extremely difficult. With so much else to worry about, everything seems a bit easier to handle with that weight off her chest.

She has no particular task to accomplish for the trial, but she helps wherever she can, does whatever is asked of her. For the most part, she just frets over the others and tries not to hover too close with her worry.

She likes to wander the city at night, never having a particular destination in mind. There were days from before she came through the Veil when she walked and walked and hungered for home. Now she's found it and yet her feet still grow restless sometimes. So much of what's happening is out of her control, and she doesn't know what to do, so she distracts herself and tries to put the worst of her thoughts out of her mind.]

[ close to the trial, a dark car is parked across the street from the hotel. liam doesn't do telephones, ok.

of course, anyone who notices the shady car might get the wrong idea... ]

[ jaka comes to stop by once and awhile to do the lawyer thing. today, he's hanging out in the living room of the hotel with rafael, burt on speakerphone. ]

So. We've heard word then, about the psychiatrist?

[ vi is kicking around the suite, being hotel bound and bored out of her ever loving mind. and there is a lot of yawning going around. she can be found in the kitchen doing food things, watching television on the couch, excessively exercising in the hotel gym, contemplating a new career in floral arrangements. all sorts of things. ]

[ That smell? The one that seems to be a cross of delicious and nauseatingly sweet, with an undercurrent of something-just-isn't-right? It's coming from the kitchen. Dawn's been in there for a while (probably too long), and it's likely she's not coming out of there any time soon. There's a clatter of dishes, the metallic ruckus of pots and pans, and the occasional 'ow' or pleased hum.

Enter at your own risk. ]

[for the first week-ish after the concert when everything was all shot to hell and finnick was drinking a lot, that was understandable. he was having a rough week. which turned into a "rough" month, two "rough" months, a million "rough" months … etc. blame archer!! or anxiety/depression. most likely that one. without his fabulous pop star life, his time is pretty evenly divided between the bar, the balcony, and bed. basically skulking around the hotel suite. FEEL FREE TO BOTHER HIM.]

[ isabella actually comes and goes quite a bit during these few months, because her and hiro are busily trying to bury rafael's secret assassin past, which involves occasionally traveling to and from italy itself. their primary concern is with the leak that had resulted in someone trying to kill them all in their home last year: while they know that rafael's contact, paolo, was the one who sold them out, and hiro tracked down the group that ordered the hit, there's a need to track down any other places that information might have been shared by those men. isa doesn't really talk about what her and hiro are doing to plug those leaks... but maybe it's better that way, all things considered.

still, when she IS around, she only seems increasingly frustrated by the situation. in fact, she can be seen stomping around the hotel room on her cellphone, presumably talking to hiro as she hisses irritably: ] Do not call until you have good tidings to share. [ she hangs up with an angry jab of her finger, and chucks the phone at the couch cushions, annoyed. apparently, though, she's not done being frustrated, as after a half a minute of furious pacing, she grabs her sword out of the umbrella stand, and lets out a grunt of rage as she suddenly viciously slices it through the top of the coat rack. the piece falls to the ground with a clunk, as her shoulders heave with rage.

approach with caution????? ]

[ three months or so down the line, val'drin will return triumphantly (or sth), with the hourglass in tow that he's had with him all that time, because leaving it with you people seemed like the worst idea ever. and to study it, i mean. mostly that.

anyways, he's back for a short to deliver it, so FEEL FREE TO CHAT WITH HIM?? re: what he learned or how he's been or idk things.

also, HEY GUYS, THE HOURGLASS IS BACK :') ]

[ buffy wants to be able to stick around the hotel, but she's terribly restless. she wants to offer some kind of company and solidarity to the frustration she can see rafael feeling about being caged up like an animal here, but she feels useless and the cabin fever sets in. law isn't her forté. in fact, talking to people in general? not her forté. and she's feeling extra alienated from the entirety of the team, des and rafael excepted, right about now, so she's trying to find other ways to keep herself occupied.

she does an okay job of hanging around and entertaining herself during the day. board games with rafael, candy crush, reading books - hey, she's literary - with the 'supply runs' aka shopping trips becoming more and more frequent. chinese food, thai food, pizza, whatever. she winds up splitting from the hotel room to get some air and comes back with that and a few bags of retail therapy. more board games. sudoku. anything that can pass the time, as well as a whole lot of shoes.

but when night falls, all bets are off. she's restless to the point of insomniac, worse than she's ever been, and she's been going out - every night. pacing the city and finding her way around dark alleys and up to rooftops via fire escape. she needs the alone time. ]

[ in the midst of all the chaos, the team receives a surprise drop-in visit from one of the dragon's claws with no warning whatsoever. gar's the one who opens the door and she freezes, wide-eyed, mouth dropping open and getting stuck there until jack politely asks to be let in. after she manages to stammer a welcome, he explains that he's managed to break away from affairs on andres long enough for a short jaunt here to check on their progress - and see how well they're holding up personally, in the wake of the tragedy.

feel free to talk to him while he's about \o\ ]

[ this year it's gar who rallies everyone to the halloween spirit, insisting it will be good for team morale, with the trial only about a month away.

she waits in the living room for others to gather, setting out bowls of peeled grapes, and dressed like marie curie because yep. ]

[ if any of you thought she wasn't spending it at the bar, you're so wrong. she slides up to the counter, and pounds her palm against the counter. ] Keep 'em flowing, barkeep. Time to celebrate being legal in my homeland. [ a beat ] Not... that... kind of legal.

[ the hourglass is back and it gets its own thread, because temptation. francesca watches it like a hawk most hours of the day, but she does have to shower and go to the bathroom SOMEtimes. ]

[Archer is in the kitchen, cooking up his elaborate daily breakfast of "Eggs Woodhouse" It takes about an hour to make the damn things, because they're so complicated, so he's sipping on Bloody Maries while he works.]

[On the counter next to him, there's another Bloody Mary, with a long bendy straw, curling down to a little creature which Archer seems to be talking at while he works.]

[It's the middle of the day, Spike is playing video games to wile away the long daylight hours as he does fairly often when he can't sleep. It's not like he's particularly helpful with any of the trial stuff, and at least this is a good way to keep his skills sharp. He's currently fighting zombies, doing a sort of first person shooter game, and there's this one asshole zombie that keeps getting away from him. He's really angry, even going fangy as though that could possibly intimidate a freaking zombie, sitting on the edge of the couch and leaning forward growling at the television. But he's got it on the run, and he's sure he'll be able to defeat it now.]

That's right, you'd better run, you brainless....

[He turns the corner and collides straight into the super mega boss zombie. It slowly absorbs the other one into its gelatinous center because apparently that's a thing zombies can do in this game. SEEMS WEIRDLY FAMILIAR AND ALSO DISGUSTING. Not that Spike was terrified for a minute, of course. He's seen things like this before in real life, and they didn't scare him then, let alone in a tv show. That awkward half-yelp that turned into a growl means nothing, nor does the dropping of his controller. It's just really hard to hold a controller when you have paws.

Wait, why in bloody hell does he have paws?

If anyone comes into the common room for the next 18 minutes at least, they'll see a large wolf running around (shapeshift 21) as Spike has accidentally discovered his shiny new vampire power. After that... we'll see if he makes the will save to change back or if he'll be stuck like this FOREVER.

Or, you know. One hour.]

[Barely a day after his conversation with Isabella, Des schedules a private conference with Jaka in the hopes of convincing him to go behind Rafael's back. He has all the information on The Black Scourge Liam had with him and while there's a gnawing ache in his gut, he hasn't managed to convince himself this is a terrible thing to do to a person.

But it's the only way to save both of them. Rafael will get over it, once he realizes this is his ticket out.

Des doesn't like Jaka enough not to dally around with banter, so the moment he's let into his office, he drops the folder on his desk and gets straight to business.]

When you get to the point where you don't like one plan and another one seems a little too hokey, you have to ask yourself... why not both?

[ although francesca has a room of her own, she spends a lot of time in the group common room, because it's lonely being cooped up all by herself. this way she can be cooped up with the rest of them :) she's mostly just been exploring the local drow culture (on the internet and around town) and working on trial stuff, but she's always willing to take a break from the humdrum of research, so feel free to bug her here. ]

[The El Camino may be an eyesore, but presently it's a perfect hiding place. With the trial drawing closer and a lot of shit coming out, Des has been patently avoiding everyone, claiming it's because he's doing research on his own and making sure his own secrets are kept covered.

In reality, for someone who claims not to care about these people much, beyond making sure this Rafael situation runs smoothly- for Rafael's sake, as well as doing a favor for a dead girl- he's choked with guilt. It doesn't stop him from lying.

Right now, he's parked in an alley across from what used to be Nightscape, staring at the CD they got in Marengo. He still hasn't had the heart to listen to it, but now seems like as good a time as any.]

C'mon, Jade. Tell me I'm doing the right thing. Or tell me I'm scum. Give me something.

[He sighs and shoves the CD into the CD player.]

[Archer comes to, after a little visit to crazy-land, courtesy of the hourglass.]

[He takes a moment to collect himself, and stands up slowly.]

Wow. . . Francesca, did you, like... spike my Bloody Mary with some crazy Elf-Juice, or something?

Edited 2014-01-05 23:04 (UTC)

Threaded | Flat

EVERYONE ❧ important plot thread (hotel), night between july 17th and 18th

mark ♔ (ota.)