after-party ♔ september

[wynn]

♬ Jeux d'eau - Ravel

WHO || Wynn, any and all Knights not currently on missions (if you are uncertain if your character would be at the castle for this, ask!)
WHAT || Squiring Ceremony Afterparty
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Ballroom
WHEN || September 6th, 2014, 6:00PM
HOW || Prose OR Actionspam

The "afterparty" is rumored to be the real main event of the night. A black-tie affair in the lavish, opulent ballroom, it is every new Knight's chance to mingle and meet some of their new brothers in arms. Of course, a couple hours are provided following the ceremony for everyone to change, do hair and makeup, and choose from the vast array of formal attire in the closets of the balcony "dressing rooms" located at the top of spiraled staircases on either side of the ballroom. A separate dressing room exists for men and women, and they include full bathrooms (with, thankfully, very modern plumbing).

The squires are usually among the last to arrive, and the ballroom is full to the brim with a fancy array of people, of all shapes, sizes and species.

Hope you aren't shy. They're all here to meet you.

Feel free to make your own open threads for people to come congratulate your newly pledged knight.

ooc; also if your Knight wants to get all gussied up, you can make a Disguise (Cha) check for how good they were at hair/makeup/stylin', etc! This goes for... any time.

Comments

[bigbad]

I am invited. I'm a Knight. [He says it very slowly, trying to keep his voice soothing.] Look, this is a big misunderstanding. I haven't bitten hardly anybody.

[Actually, no one at all, but he crit failed his diplomacy check, so poor taste jokes it is!]

[olreliable]

You're a-? [the horror on her face is almost comical. Probably. To people who aren't her.]

[bigbad]

Obviously. Why else would I come to this party? The free drinks aren't that good.

[olreliable]

But knights are good and you're so... Well, evil.

[Willow Rosenberg does not pull punches. She glances around to try to find Wynn but crit fails because she's panicking.

h e l p]

[bigbad]

I'm not evil. I've got a bloody soul, haven't I?

[He looks increasingly uncomfortable because, well, he hasn't done anything evil around here that people could remember him for. And she seems to know him and know he's a vampire and think he's done bad things. Which means... he probably has.

He's told himself it's likely again and again. He thought he'd faced the possibility. It's still hard to think he might have to face the reality.

All those times he's said he'd do anything to get his memories back, and suddenly he's not sure he wants to know.]

[olreliable]

...Since when? [No, really. She did that ritual once and it was hella complicated. Except she managed it in a hospital bed shhhh.]

[bigbad]

...I dunno. Since before I came through the veil, I guess. A goddess told me it was there.

[olreliable]

A godd- [None of this makes any sense and Willow is not okay. But a sense motive of 18 is helping her actually realize that he's not lying.]

You really don't remember me?

[bigbad]

No. [He shrugs a shoulder.] I'd say I'm sorry, but I gather they wouldn't be good memories. I was really a bad guy?

[olreliable]

The was is debatable. But a definite yes on the bad part. But maybe that's just being all... overly sensitive over the time you kidnapped me and threatened to kill me.

[bigbad]

Why would I kidnap you? Are you rich or something?

[Probably... besides the point. He waves a hand.]

Look, love, I don't remember anything from before I came for. Well, just my name. And a surprising amount of Passions. But nothing about my life. Even the vampire thing I had to find out the hard way.

[olreliable]

You wanted me to help you get your girlfriend back. Magically. [The whole thing was weird to think or talk about. Spike had creeped her out so bad, even when he was just crying about missing Dru.]

[bigbad]

I have a girlfriend? [A beat.] What's she look like? Is she hot?

[olreliable]

Sure, if you like people who look dead.

...Because they are. Dead. She was a vampire too.

[bigbad]

Undead. And it's not like we've got bits rotting off. You can't even tell most of the time.

[olreliable]

I think you're missing the important part of the story where you kidnapped me.

[bigbad]

I'm not missing it, I just... [He sighs, trying to look a little less threatening (diplomacy 15).] Look, I don't remember anything, all right? There're all these people lately who remember me doing all these awful things, but all I've ever done is fight with the knights, fight for good. People don't change that much, right? How could I be a kidnapper and bad guy one moment and... me the next? It makes no bloody sense.

[Unless the soul came into the picture. Unless it had changed him that much and he just didn't remember how he'd been before it. Still, it doesn't fit his mental image of himself.]

[olreliable]

[sense motive 24. Oh. She believes him. That concept is entirely foreign to her and the completely confused look on her face shows as much.]

But you--! I mean, you were... Really? You've been doing good?

[bigbad]

Yeah. [He looks vaguely frustrated that he even has to go into this. He has no memories of being bad. Why's it have to come back and haunt him anyway?] Look, I'm not the guy you think I am. Haven't been for as long as I can remember.

[olreliable]

[Willow is quiet for several beats, trying to decide how to process this.]

So... What sort of things have you done here?

[She believes he's not lying but it's still a really hard pill to swallow. Please cite you're sources for your good deeds Spike. Maybe this is Spike's recap episode.]

[bigbad]

Well, lots of stuff. [He's been here over two years like that's a lot of stuff to recap.] I've been on this one mission more or less since I got here. Turns out it wasn't exactly routine.

[And he was kidnapped and tortured and replaced with a doppelganger for a little while there ahahaha we don't need to tell that story.]

[olreliable]

What kind of mission? What are you trying to do?

[Did you miss her always asking questions? Oh wait you can't remember that. TIME TO LEARN FOR THE FIRST TIME.]

[bigbad]

Well, we were trying to find this magic thing. But we got a bit sidetracked by all the experimenting on Shadowkind and evil dictators and torture.

[olreliable]

...magic thing.

[Spike you are terrible at this.]

[bigbad]

Lazarus Talisman. We've gotten sidetracked enough that it rarely comes up these days. But it's supposed to be very powerful.