chicago ♔ it’s a tragedy to be left only with memories

[savemyself]

WHO || Failboat and friends [Closed]
WHAT || As the trial drags on, the Knights spend their last few months in Chicago and tensions mount
WHERE || Various locations, Chicago
WHEN || November 21st - The end of the trial?? [Back AND Forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order


Everybody loves a media circus and the trial of Rafael Giovanni is no exception. If he was famous before, in the days following the shooting, now he's all people are talking about, and all the tabloids want to focus on. The complications presented at some of the early hearings by Jaka, regarding the identity of the Black Scourge and Rafael's alleged reaction have only made the story more appealing to the millions watching.

They've also caused the trial to drag out for months as facts are checked, evidence is poured over, and the jury becomes only more split on the issue. In the meantime, the holidays fly by, and one of the most terrible winters in years blankets Chicago in blizzards.

This log covers any work and non-work related shenanigans the Knights have while staying in Chicago, immediately following the last log and continuing for the next couple 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 Elena 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.

Comments

[witchwoman]

[Pushing herself back to standing, Myri hangs back in shock as Des unloads on them, singling some of them out. All of it feels like the start of what happened when Mark nearly left (and she along with him). Her stomach twists and she shakes her head silently as the other start to chime in. All this is going to do is turn into a shouting match. She steps forward and moves to stand in front of Des, placing a hand on his chest, not pushing or threatening, just looking up at him with calm resolution.]

No one asked you to put yourself on the line for Rafael. You chose to put your stake into this, to make it a game you needed to win. And you continue to be so desperate to separate yourself from us, yet you have tied your fate to his. The only way that we are going to see this through is if we do it as a... [family] team. That means no more secrets. [Her hands drops away from him and she turns to the rest of them.] No more... [She just gestures to the room around them as if to say NO MORE SHIT LIKE THIS.] It has to stop. Or we're going to kill each other before they even have to try.

[graveflowers]

[ maybe it's the excessive depression or the lack of sleep or the overwhelming sense of apathy, but vi isn't all that bothered by his speech since it's something they all sort of know in the back of their minds. except the car part, but she supposes he deserves something completely unimportant to harp on about. and everything myri said is true, also. they just suck at the execution. it could use a little work.

she puts her hand on des' arm as she passes for another top up (infuse with life +19 hp) in case sometime tries to deck him again, which doesn't seem entirely out of the question at the moment, and heads over to luthir, adding quietly as she goes: ] He didn't tell us because we would have stopped him.

[notaroundme]

You're right. Most of us have messed up and kept secrets. And the biggest problem with that is no one is learning from it. That includes you, Des. You've had plenty of opportunities to learn from our mistakes, and you chose the route that messed everything up. Again.

[She looks at the others, the one responsible for the current mess, holding up her very, very bloody hands.]

But that's besides the point now, because apparently our team is as full of monsters as any team we're fighting. Do you guys feel better now? Was it worth it, nearly killing him out of anger? If I screw up, are you just going to pummel me to a pulp because you can't control yourselves?

[slay]

Hey, you know what this conversation doesn't need? [ there's steely aggression in buffy as she rounds on elena, her retort a sharp snap that she can't reel in. she doesn't take well to being called a monster for a lot of reasons, chief among them being her own uncertainty in her status. but despite her fear, she's holding onto a rational perspective and using that to maintain her disagreement with elena, as much as her emotional side wants to break down and agree and run away. elena might be trying to pretend that des is as defenseless as she is, but that's just not the truth. he's immortal. and if five punches could take down an immortal, they'd be having a lot less trouble with anderson. there was never any real danger here. ] A bunch of overdramatic panic from people who don't understand immortality.

[ so shut the fuck up (intimidate 24). it doesn't occur to her in the moment that by barking out a disparaging remark like that after what just happened might only be proving elena's point, because she's on a mission, and she's not entirely sure she won't have another go at des right now. luckily she gets a will save of 19, so she accomplishes her attempt to abstain from violence by ... keeping distance between herself and des. ]

And you. [ she points at des as she rounds on him. ] You are the last person with any room to criticize anyone's motivations. Why are you still here? Jade's dead. And even if she weren't, she sure as hell wouldn't be with you. [ she shakes her head, lip curling in disgust. ] Trying to get a chance with her is the only reason you ever stuck around. You always said you were better on your own, now I'm beginning to see why.

Choosing to barter with yourself doesn't give you the right to run someone else's life into the ground because you're on a bender. The only person with a right to be making decisions about this trial is Rafael. [ no really it's his life. she looks over at him. ] And he made one. [ now seems like 100% the best time to bring up the seal yes it does. ]

[notaroundme]

You know what we really didn't need? Gratuitous unnecessary violence.

[How about no, bitch. (will save nat 20, 30 total]

Oh, so because he'll survive it's okay to beat him to within an inch of his life? Because what I do understand is what it's like to almost die, to feel like you're about to, and it sucks. So instead of murder, you're stooping to torture. I'm pretty sure that that's not justifiable by anything.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des almost mows over Elena with his next comment, stepping closer to Buffy, almost challenging her.] Because the job isn't done, princess. [Des sneers through gritted teeth. He eyes Myri and Vi for a second and then turns back to Buffy.] This was always about the Talisman or did you forget about that thing? We're all tied up in this mess together, so like or not, I get to be here, because if I'm not, then I'm gonna be tripping over you for the rest of time and not a one of us has time for that.

[Another glance at Myri.] But you're right. Honesty hour. You wanna know what I've been doing in-between rigging a trial so Rafael can come out of this with less bullshit on his record? [He glances around the room.] I've been doing some digging on the Grays- you know, the shady fucks that have been hanging around us. They made Rafael a deal- they'd win him the case, if he did them a favor. Sounds too good to be true, right?

It is. I got a buddy in Manhattan- arcane lore professor. He's been doing some digging on his own since the Grays first contacted us. I got a call from him an hour ago, saying he had some information. The Grays are watchers- people who stalk around on Earth, pushing events into motion to test humanity. They get off on suffering, they get off on seeing how far you can push a person until they break. Think about it- one was there the night Jade got shot. Then he showed up again at the hospital. And then they show up at the bridge when Rafael almost took a swandive into the river. This is what they do. They push and they push and they push just to prove we can take it. And they don't care if we can't. And Linda? My little stalker- she's no better. Same basic idea. Only she thinks people will not only break, they'll break bad.

It's a game and we're all a part of it. We're like lightning rods for suffering and we're playing right into their hands. So yeah, screw-ups only beget more screw-ups, and the only thing we can do is get off the fucking high horse and realize that maybe we're none of us better than the others.

[romanticidal]

Game or no game - it makes no difference now. The seal they gave is broken. I have agreed to accept their help.

[ for which he sounds UTTERLY UNAPOLOGETIC, guess who he trusts more right now: des or Buffy. Just guess. ] What consequences may come are mine to pay.

[nothingsodivine]

[Des looks utterly horrified at this news.] You did what?

[witchwoman]

[As the yelling continues, Myri edges herself out of the center of it, not able to handle this anymore. She can't calm them all down, much as she wishes she could. The last time this happened, the group was nearly torn apart. And now?

She just moves back, lets them yell all they'd like. She can't really stop them. Of all the loud voices in the room, a voice of reason isn't likely to be heard. She can only hope that it doesn't turn back to violence. So she keeps backing up until she finds an empty spot of wall and slides down to sit on the floor, waiting it out.]

[slay]

Your "solution"? Wasn't a solution. [ beat. she's not shouting anymore, she's just informative and decisive. ] So, I told Rafael what the Grays offered us, and let him make his own choice. [ buffy isn't sorry either, even after what des is saying about them being some horrible enablers of human awfulness. ] We're going to win, and Rafael will owe them a favor to balance the scale.

[graveflowers]

And what if the favor they ask is that he go back to being an assassin? [ she looks over at rafael sadly, though whether it's because of all this or if it's just how she looks on the regular, now with the added bonus of his implied suicide (wis 14) is anyone's guess. but what if the favor he owes winds up being the one thing jade didn't want? she was in the room when he promised her, she's the daughter of a death goddess, she doesn't get to push that kind of promise under the rug. ] What if they want the Black Scourge? You're good, you're so good, Italia, imagine how you must look as an asset to them.

[nothingsodivine]

Imagine the kind of pain it's gonna cause him to make that choice. [He turns to Buffy and now he's... not angry. He's upset. Genuinely so. Anyone can see that something about this worries the hell out of him.

And more importantly, that for all his bad choices and yelling and calling BS, he is trying to protect them.] Buffy, you don't know what you're dealing with. These people don't dick around. Jade died because of this. They let her die. You can't let them get their claws in you.

1/2

[rationalizes]

This... friend of yours. Is there any way I might speak to them? I've never heard of such a thing in all my studies, and while I certainly don't profess to know all there is to know, if it's such an esoteric branch of arcane lore, perhaps his information was misinterpreted. I'd love to look over it with him. Before we jump to any hasty conclusions about who these people are, and what they might want.

[romanticidal]

Jade died because of those men who were seeking her death, and because of a trigger I pulled. [ Rafael's voice is hard, as his eyes move between vi and des. ] Not because of what anyone else did or did not do. I know this better than anyone.

What is done is done. If they would ask me some day to commit some great evil, then I will defy then, at whatever cost there may be. Let us hope, however, the freedom they have promised me will buy us the time to deal with the talisman, and those who are truly responsible for Eterna's death.

[bigbad]

[At this point, Spike can't even be surprised that Buffy and Rafael broke the seal without talking to the rest of the team. He shoots Buffy a hurt look. He might search her out later to talk about it, but the fact is, it is Rafael's choice. Rafael's choice and Rafael's debt. But there's something about Des' revelation that bothers him a lot more than the bit about the Greys beinganipulative bastards. That much he had half suspected already.]

And how long ago did your friend tell you all this before you saw fit to share it with the bloody team? [He shakes his head, scowling.] I'd suggest that maybe it's time we stop keeping secrets from one another but we all know it won't do any good. Every single bloody time you'll decide your secret's the one worth keeping. This is the decision no one but you can make.

Beginning to think Finnick and Archer have the right idea in their coping mechanism.

[graveflowers]

[ so stalemate.

nodding absently, vi turns and walks away. done with this. hell, she was done with it before it even started, but now she is extra done. spike's comment about finnick was just the last straw. and someone needs to get a washcloth for elena to wash off the blood. ]

[nothingsodivine]

I got off the phone with him an hour ago. [Des scowls and then looks at Gar.] I'll have him send his documents over if you wanna look over them, but unless you want him to spend four hours dissecting arcane chaos theories, I don't advise calling him. Or maybe you're into that and I just found you a boyfriend. Hell if I know.

[AND OFF HE GOES] I'm gonna go wash the blood off me and hunt down an IHop.

[notaroundme]

[Yeah, Elena is pretty done with this clusterfuck too.

She finally pulls herself off the floor, probably leaving stains as she does. Oops.

Then, without another word, she walks off in the direction Vi went.]

[slay]

Rafael's right. We did this so we could get back to what our mission is really about. We have catch-up to do if we want to be anywhere near where Chad and his cronies are in finding that Talisman. It's time we got back to work. [ she's happy to bury all of this bullshit for the time being, it seems, without bothering to actually work anything out. she turns to gar. ] So, where do we start?

[rationalizes]

I rather think we should start by cleaning up this mess, actually. I'm not certain any discussion about direction of the mission will be very fruitful... right now.

[ a sad look of reassurance to buffy, as she moves to open the closet by the door to remove a broom and dustpan for the glass ] Tomorrow, we'll refocus our efforts.

[isisagent]

[Archer stumbles into the mess with a box of donuts in one hand, and a nice bottle of whiskey in the other.]

I stopped to pick up some refreshments on the way back, so we could celebrate being done with this bullsh - JESUS FUCK [He sees all the blood on the carpet... and everywhere.] What the fuck did I miss?

[Can't help but think of this]

[65]

[finnick had been going to peace out after spike's little ~quip~, but he didn't. which is good, because now he's still around to make this comment:] Oh, half the group decided that torture was an appropriate form of retaliation for Des doing something they didn't approve of.

[isisagent]

[Archer can't help but laugh out loud.]

How am I more well-adjusted than half of this group?

[He sits down, kicks his feet up on the table, and drinks a few swigs straight from the bottle, before pulling a glass closer and pouring a fill into that, then he grabs a donut, and plops the box down on the table.

Fuck's sake. That's a lot of blood. Who needs a drink?

[notaroundme]

[Elena comes back into the room since it seems like no one else is going to fling any more rabid insults. She has a damp towel and is wiping Des' blood from her hands.]

Me. I do.

[Never has she wanted one more in her life. After that, maybe she'll help clean up.]

[bigbad]

Yeah... I could use one too. [And he's gonna head over to the kitchen and open the fridge. If anyone is paying attention they might notice him lick his fingers where he got Des' blood on them.]